MiSTer is fully open source project and will remain open. This is my hobby and i'm getting fun to make hardware and software for this project. While software part just requires time, hardware requires money as well. To release a working add-on i have to make some test samples. Sometimes disaster happens and some equipment/device dies during experiments. Some bought devices/components intended to be MiSTer companions turned to be useless. So i have to try many options before give advice to users.
I'm not a big fan of asking donation for hobby projects, but this project sometimes requires investment to develop. It's absolutely voluntary, you don't have to. But if you satisfied my work and would be glad to donate, then here is my Paypal:
This page contains commonly asked questions and their answers.
MiSTer will never use physical cartridges.
The project aims to replace the need for having original hardware for the same experience. It is also physically impractical/impossible given the number of GPIO pins available from the FPGA.
It depends on your setup, but it ranges from imperceptibly low to around one frame of lag.
Zero latency is possible with certain equipment and tweaks. See here for a more detailed explanation.
The 'framework' is all the common elements between cores that handle things like IO, video scaling, etc.
Yes, there are many USB adapters for original console controllers. They can also be connected directly via the IO board as detailed below.
Light guns such as the NES Zapper are too timing sensitive to work over USB, but will work fine on supported cores via the IO board as detailed below.
Yes, please refer to this page.
Almost any controller that uses USB will work with MiSTer. You can also use a Bluetooth or 2.4ghz USB adapter for wireless. To reduce input latency USB may be overclocked which works with some controllers. For more information, check the links below:
Yes, you can. See here.
No, but you will probably want some sort of inexpensive OTG hub at least (or a regular hub with an adapter). Use a powered hub if you have many devices.
Yes, it's a good idea to always have a USB keyboard available. Cheap wireless keyboards exist that you can use to reduce clutter.
First setup the controller in the main menu after plugging it in with no core loaded. Then you can define it in the various cores' OSD menus.
No. The IO board is optional, but offers features that could be important for some users (3.5mm and optical audio, CRT output, tape audio input, etc).
SNAC (Serial Native Accessory Converter) is used for direct wiring. Supporting cores (SNES, Genesis, NES, and TG16) allow you to directly connect original controllers. See this page for details on SNAC.
No. You can use an HDMI to VGA adapter to do it instead. See Direct Video.
No and no, but those who enjoy tinkering can get a lot extra out of their MiSTer if they wish. The minimum setup only requires attaching a memory board to a DE-10 Nano and making an SD card. See this Setup Guide.
You can find the updated list at the Cores-that-use-SDRAM section.
The Genesis has graphics RAM and stores data that is copied from the cartridge ROM. The NES does not do this, and typically accesses the ROM directly for the data which requires much tighter timings. Using the SDRAM board on the NES core allows meeting these timing requirements.
Yes, you will want at least a heatsink (passive cooling). 22mm x 22mm is the ideal size. Active cooling (a fan) helps but is not strictly required. Some faster cores like ao486 may generate a lot of heat.
The DE10-Nano board needs a 5V power supply with at least 2A. The connector is a coaxial "barrel" plug of 5.5 mm outer diameter and 2.1 mm inner diameter, center positive. If you are using a USB Hub addon board and have a lot of power hungry peripherals attached to it (wifi, bluetooth, multiple controllers), it might be a good idea to upgrade to a similar 5v power supply, but with more amps (4A-5A).
There are two routes you can take; either make it yourself or purchase a case from an online vendor. For DiY, you can find the necessary 3D print files online (e.g. thingiverse).
M3 screws, 8mm is a good length.
Edit mister.ini on your SD card for 1080p by setting video_mode=8. You will also need to use a filter in each core, which you can select in the system core menu (press OSD then 'right'). If you have no filters files, you can download Interpolation sharp here.txt) and put it in your /media/fat/filters/ folder.
You will need to set the device to integer scaling for best results. Set vscale_mode=1 in mister.ini.
"Integer scaling" is when your source resolution (240p) is divided into your target resolution (1080p) using only whole numbers (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4...). This means if you use integer scaling with the MiSTer set to a 1080p resolution in the MiSTer.ini, and the core you are using natively outputs 240p, then the image will be scaled 4x which 4 times 240 equals 960. This leaves a black border for the remaining 80 pixels distributed across the top and bottom the screen.
You can play with other settings if you want the scaler to fill the screen, but scanlines won't be "perfect" unless the source resolution (e.g. 240p) divides evenly into the target resolution (e.g. 1200p at 5x scaling).
MiSTer can't quite reach 4k. Edit mister.ini on your SD card to change resolutions, e.g. video_mode=12 for 1440p or video_mode=13 for 1536p (hardware maximum). Compatibility with these higher resolutions may depend upon your display and signal chain.
Most MiSTer cores are just as, if not more accurate, as any of the other major FPGA offerings available today. Most people would not able to tell the difference between these cores and the original hardware.
The Gameboy, GBA, Lynx, and NES core supports save states.
Cores need to be written from scratch to support them (as was done with the GBA and Lynx cores) or they need to be reworked to support pause before save states can be added (as was done with the Gameboy and NES cores). At this time there are no specific plans to apply this to other cores, but it may happen one day.
MiSTer repositories are self contained and the official updater script only fetches cores from the active official MiSTer repositories. Cores from other repos are not fully integrated so your results may vary. Some developers have their own discord servers or forums and you can seek support there.
Probably never. There isn’t really sufficient bandwidth.
Probably next year. Serious progress has been made by a few developers but there’s no official ETA.
Try setting vsync to 0 as your display may not support all refresh rates. (Note that this was the default setting.)
Unzip them. Do not zip CD games. Also put them in iso/wav/bin/img + cue format.
Use Japanese version 3.0. You will commonly find it with filename: Super CD-ROM System (Japan) (v3.0).pce
You need to use two different options: autobooting a core, and starting the core on a given ROM. Here is how:
In the .INI file, set bootcore=NES_20201102.rbf (or the specific core version you have), and comment out ;bootcore_timeout.
Then on your NES games folder (e.g. /media/fat/games/NES/, copy the FDS bios as boot0.rom, and your .NES rom to boot as boot1.rom.
For more options, please refer to the NES core documentation
De10-Nano is manufactured in very large scale for use by students and is widely available. When it reaches end of life, the open source cores and infrastructure will be ported to another widely available board.
No, you should report the defect and wait for a fix. There is no magical best DE-10 Nano.
Generally, no. While it’s always possible that someone will take time to port things to other boards, the different pins and memory will mean it won’t be a straight use and unless it’s a significant upgrade, it would never gain official support.
A number of complex cores (like ao486) benefit from having the chip at cooler temperatures, since heat can affect the tight timings they require. A fan is recommended to avoid any possible glitches, but you won't damage your DE10-Nano if you choose not to use one.
This page aims to centralize good tutorials and introduction videos.
MiSTer is an evolving platform, so these videos can only represent what was available at the time:
(mentioning MiSTer)
This wiki page contains some links to articles that were written about the MiSTer FPGA project.
In order to get started with the MiSTer platform, there are a few things that will be required. Optional addons are also available but for the bare minimum setup, you will need the following items:
The heart and engine of the whole platform is the Terasic DE10-Nano development board, made in Taiwan.
Please see an important update from Terasic regarding use of MiSTer on their DE10-Nano board here: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=2786
You can buy it:
Or from major electronics suppliers such as:
A power supply unit (PSU) and 8GB MicroSD card is included with the kit. The SD card can be reformatted to use with your MiSTer. Any MicroSD card 2GB and larger should work fine as well. Speed class doesn't affect it.
Most unpowered basic USB hubs will work. Although it is recommended that you use a powered USB OTG hub with your DE10-Nano board as it is not able to handle high current consumption, so depending on the peripherals you use, you may need an external powered hub.
If you're not connecting too many USB peripherals, it does handle a keyboard, mouse, and gamepad just fine. Do note that the USB socket isn't very robust so it is best to avoid connecting and disconnecting too often.
Micro USB OTG cable + basic USB 2.0 hub.
A basic USB 2.0 hub, or one with external power would be a good idea both to eliminate OTG socket reliability issues and provide power to external devices. Some cheap ones on eBay/Aliexpress may be declared as full speed USB 2.0 but in fact work in USB low speed mode. They may be acceptable for keyboard, but better to avoid them.
USB OTG Hub.
These hubs are designed to connect directly to the micro-USB OTG port and require less inter-connection cables. Such hubs are also available on eBay/Aliexpress.
You can assemble or purchase this board that provides 7 USB ports available to the MiSTer system.
The hybrid ARM+FPGA chip has been found to get hot even when idling in the core menu, therefore some passive cooling is recommended. The main heat producer in the chip is the integrated dual-core ARM processor producing a constant heat regardless of the FPGA core in use.
The Cyclone V FPGA chip on the DE10-Nano board is industrial grade and supports up to 100°C, but for guaranteed long term usage without degrading its characteristics, it's highly advisable to add at least a heatsink.
This chip is approximately 21.5mm x 21.5mm. Ideal dimensions of a heatsink is 22mm x 22mm, and it will cover all the FPGA. Commonly found heatsinks with dimensions ranging from 20mm x 20mm to 25mm x 25mm can be used, but for larger heatsinks pay attention to nearby components, they must not touch the heatsink.
The height of the heatsink should be no more than 10mm if an I/O board is used because it could touch parts in the I/O board and create short circuits.
Some large cores such as ao486 and Minimig are sensitive to FPGA chip temperature and become unstable if it becomes too hot. So active cooling, in addition to passive cooling, is recommended for stability.
If you're building or purchasing an I/O board, they are designed for a 40mm x 40mm fan. Assembled I/O boards should already have a fan installed.
If you do not use any I/O boards then you are free to choose any fan, but bear in mind that you should only use the 5V line from the Terasic DE10-Nano board to drive a 5V fan. (The DE10-Nano's 9V line is deliberately hidden by the MiSTer I/O board to prevent any possibility of accidentally shorting it to any other signals.) You may also consider a larger 12V fan, they should work but spin slower and still provide good airflow. (Do note that popular Noctua fans may not spin up when undervolted).
A large selection of fans can be found on most electronic components sites, such as Digikey, Mouser and many others.
If you are going to use the official USB Hub add-on board with many peripherals attached, then there will be a much larger current draw required of the stock PSU than it was originally designed for. This could lead to instability and should be avoided. If you are using a usb hub add-on board, you should upgrade to a 4amp or greater power supply to provide sufficient current to both. When replacing the power supply make sure to get one that is relatively high quality, as the DE10-Nano could become damaged if you switch to a cheap badly-made power supply. Here's a Mean Well Power Supply Unit that is highly recommended:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D0Z8PLW/
Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/short/43cbh4
Mouser: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MEAN-WELL/GST25A05-P1J/?qs=drgMNd%252BkGPOX8brSXUPVtQ%3D%3D
This power supply would also require the appropriate female IEC 320 C13 power cable for your outlet that is appropriate for your region.
This is an essential guide for your first time setup of the MiSTer system. It will guide you through the SD card installation, help you update the MiSTer system files, and shows you how to install an example console core and run a game.
There are two option for getting started, the recommended method is to use the Mr Fusion setup script. This is the best option for beginners and works on all platforms.
The second option is a manual install which is only recommended for users with specific use cases.
Mr Fusion provides a compact image that you can download and flash onto an SD card of any size with a tool like Apple Pi Baker, balenaEtcher, Win32 Disk Imager, or even dd.
When you put this SD card into your DE10-nano and start it up, it will expand the card to its full capacity and install a basic MiSTer setup. This will be familiar to anyone who's worked with a Raspberry Pi before.
From there, using the built-in scripts, you can configure WiFi (or use ethernet out of the box) and run the standard MiSTer Updater script to get an up to date MiSTer installation.
You can optionally provide custom WiFi and Samba configuration which Mr. Fusion will install alongside the basic MiSTer setup.
Download the latest version from the releases page.
Download and install an SD card flash utility for your system. Here are a few example in no particular order:
Refer to the documentation of the SD card flash utility for more information.
Follow your SD card flash utility's instructions to flash the downloaded image onto your SD card.
Note: Extract the downloaded SD card image zip file if your SD card flash utility does not support flashing zip files!
Put the SD card into the DE10-nano and power it on. (Be careful to pick the right SD card slot! Some pre-configured bundles have a secondary SD card slot on, e.g., the I/O board. Using the secondary slot will not work in this step. The SD slot on the DE10-nano is on the underside of that board.)
After a few seconds the orange LED on the board should light up. If you have a TV or monitor connected to the HDMI port, the screen will turn blue and then show an installation notice splash screen:
Mr. Fusion will automatically re-partition and resize your SD card and copy all the necessary MiSTer files onto it. When it's done it will reboot your DE10-nano and you will be greeted by the MiSTer menu.
Connect a keyboard to your DE10-nano and hit F12 to open the menu. Through the Scripts section you can configure WiFi and update your MiSTer.
Note: From powering on the DE10-nano and getting to the MiSTer menu should not take more than 90 seconds. If you don't see the MiSTer menu appear after two minutes, power off the DE10-nano, remove the SD card and start over.
The MiSTer Downloader tool is included by default in every MiSTer installation. It will install every new update for the system, including core updates. This image also includes the WiFi setup script to allow you to quickly setup a wireless internet connection after installation.
You can add more scripts if necessary: After you have flashed your SD card and
before you move it over to the DE10-nano, re-insert it into your computer.
A new drive called MRFUSION will appear. In it is a Scripts folder. Put
any script you want to have available in your MiSTer in this folder. It will
be copied to your MiSTer's Scripts folder automatically during the installation.
You can copy a custom wpa_supplicant.conf file in the root of the SD card
after flashing the Mr. Fusion image. It will automatically be copied to the
correct place during the installation of MiSTer.
This allows you to configure your WiFi credentials before you install MiSTer
and thus removes the need to connect a keyboard after installation.
You can copy a custom samba.sh file in the root of the SD card
after flashing the Mr. Fusion image. It will automatically be copied to the
correct place during the installation of MiSTer.
This allows you to enable Samba before you install and thus removes
the need to connect a keyboard to your MiSTer or having to ssh into it.
You will need the following things to get everything started.
For the SD card setup:
And to run it:
Do check the How to start and Input devices wiki pages for further information.
Download the latest SD card installer.
Insert your SD card into your card reader. All data on the SD card will be deleted! Make sure that the correct drive is selected, and if needed, backup the SD card.
Extract the release_201#####.rar file.
Start MiSTer SD Card Utility.exe
Make sure it says "Boot + Files" in the "Image" field.
U-Boot + Linux + MiSTer in the Image field.Select your SD card in the Drive field. If you have inserted the SD card after starting the Installer, hit the Refresh button and your SD card should appear.
The Installer may open multiple windows which will ask you to format the drive. If this happens, don't format the drive! Press Cancel in all windows.
Press Full Install and confirm the following Warning with Yes. All data on the SD card will be deleted! If needed, make sure to backup the SD card before you execute this.
Confirm the successful installation with OK
The SD card file explorer window may be opened twice, if so, close one of them. The SD-card should contain the following files and folders:
If you see only the menu.rbf file, hit F5 on your keyboard or right click > Refresh to refresh the window. You should see all of them now. There may be other files and folders, but these are the essentials.
The files and folders you should see are:
linux - Folder containing linux filesconfig - The configuration folder where various config files are placed automatically. Those files usually don't need any manual modifications.menu.rbf - This is the actual MiSTer menu core, which you will see when you boot up the DE10-Nano board (GitHub).MiSTer - MiSTer main firmware (GitHub)The SD card installer will be older then the actual binary releases of the MiSTer firmware and the menu core. Therefore, we want to bring those files up to date.
Go to the MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer Repository and download the most recent MiSTer_202##### firmware file on the bottom of the page.
Rename the MiSTer_202##### file to MiSTer
Copy the file over to your SD-card and override the old MiSTer file.
Repeat this for the menu core file. Go to the MiSTer-devel/Menu_MiSTer repository and download the most recent menu_202#####.rbf core file on the bottom of the page. Rename menu_202#####.rbf to menu.rbf and override the old file on the SD card.
We want to actually run a core like the NES or Genesis (Megadrive) console or Amiga computer on our DE10-Nano FPGA board. Therefore, we have to copy a core .rbf file to the root of the SD-card. The sidebar on the right contains a list of MiSTer compatible cores. Check out the GitHub repository page of each core for specific information.
The following description is a generic example based on the NES core, but it is applicable to most other cores.
Do note that the NES core requires additional SDRAM. If you do not have this add-on, you can still continue following the example by using the Genesis core (which does not require additional SDRAM) instead of NES.
Click in the sidebar on Cores > "NES" or go directly through this link to the MiSTer-devel/NES_MiSTer release folder. Download the lates NES_20######.rbf core file
Copy the core file to the root of the SD Card. Leave the date in the filename. By this, you know which version you are actually using.
Create a new folder and name it for example NES Games.
Download a .nes ROM (Game) file and copy it into your NES Games folder. You have to google that by yourself...
Connect the DE10-Nano board via HDMI to a monitor and via USB-OTG adapter to a keyboard. Do not connect the power supply as yet.
Remove the SD card from your PC and insert it in the DE10-Nano board.
Connect the power supply. This will turn on the DE10-Nano board. You will see the MiSTer menu on the monitor. You see in the menu the NES (or Genesis) core we have copied to the SD Card. Hit the Enter key to start it.
You will see a black screen. This is normal because no ROM is loaded yet. Press F12 to bring up the MiSTer menu. In order to run a game, select "Load *.NES" and hit Enter.
This will bring up the SD card root directory. Navigate into your "NES Games" folder and select the ROM you want to start and hit Enter.
Congratulations, you have successfully started your first game on your new MiSTer!
To get the most out of your MiSTer don't forget to (at least) check out the following pages:
Once you've installed Release_20180115 or later, you can install future updates on MiSTer without removing the SD card. It's done in 2 stages:
1) Copy everything from files folder of release to /media/fat using FTP client and then reboot MiSTer (use Left Shift + Left CTRL + Left Alt + Right Alt combination).
2) Log in via serial console or ssh and type updateboot then reboot again.
Usually the bootloader has little or no change and does not always require updating. But for a better experience it's advised to update the bootloader with every release. If by any chance a new version of Linux isn't able to boot with a previous bootloader, then simply use the SD card Installer Tool to update the bootloader (Update Boot button).
You may organize the cores into directories (folders) rather than have them stored on the root directory, to make these directories visible simply add an underscore in front of the directory name.
The MiSTer.ini configuration file contains settings for the MiSTer.
A default copy of the file itself can be found here: MiSTer.ini
Download and copy the MiSTer.ini file to the root of your SD-Card. Open it with your favorite editor (e.g. Notepad++) and change the parameters accordingly to the following description.
List of INI Settings
Addtional Information
If specified, selects core to run at startup (instead of menu)
bootcore=lastcore Automatically loads the last used core
bootcore=lastexactcore Automatically loads the last used core, matching time stamp e.g. core_yyymmdd.rbf
bootcore=[corename] Loads [corename]_*.rbf at startup (first file found on SD card)
bootcore=[corename_yyyymmdd.rbf] Loads [corename_yyyymmdd].rbf at startup (exact file name)
You can still select Reboot in the system menu to get back to the main menu core.
Number of seconds to wait before auto core boot. You can comment out this line by putting ; at the beginning to boot directly into the core with no timeout.
bootcore=10 Value can be 10 to 30 seconds
Use composite sync as horizontal sync signal on VGA output.
composite_sync=1 activate composite sync
composite_sync=0 deactivate composite sync
Feature for using the HDMI port with DACs to produce analog video. See this page for more information.
direct_video=1 to activate it (disables compatibility with HDMI TVs and monitors).
direct_video=0 to deactivate it.
You can set up to two additional custom aspect ratios (ie. 8:7, 10:7, 64:49, 204:137), which will appear in the Audio & Video menu of any core.
It is recommended to set these on a core-by-core basis in your config file, as you may want different options depending on what core you're playing.
Note: This is the aspect ratio of the active/visible image, NOT pixel aspect ratio.
custom_aspect_ratio_1=8:7
custom_aspect_ratio_2=64:49Seconds to display controller settings when starting a new core.
Cores support automated mapping from central joystick mapping if no core-specific joystick mapping was defined. When this is active, MiSTer shows a tiny popup displaying the button assignment. This setting controls the time that pop-up is displayed (and can switch it off)
controller_info=0 Do not display mapping info pop-up
controller_info=1, controller_info=10 Seconds to display controller mapping pop up
Run scandoubler on VGA output always (depends on core).
Most modern monitors won't support the 15 KHz horizontal sync output signal through the VGA connector. This option doubles the frequency of horizontal sync signal and brings it in a compatible range for modern monitors. Note that this is not a global option and is only valid for the MiSTer Menu. Each core drives the VGA output itself and requires its own setting. Check the core menu of the corresponding core via HDMI to set the scandoubler option if available / necessary.
forced_scandoubler=1 activate scandoubler
forced_scandoubler=0 deactivate scandoubler
HDMI audio output options
hdmi_audio_96k=1 96khz/16bit HDMI audio
hdmi_audio_96k=0 48khz/16bit HDMI audio
Change between Full Range RGB and Limited Range RGB
hdmi_limited=0 Full Range RGB (0-255)
hdmi_limited=1 Limited Range RGB (16-235)
hdmi_limited=2 Limited Range common DAC variant (16-255)
USB vendor ID and product ID for JammaSD adapter, required for keypress-to-joystick translation.
Allows a JammaSD joystick to be read as a standard joystick rather than being read as a keyboard.
jammasd_vid Vendor ID
jammasd_pid Product ID
Makes the MENU key map to RGUI in Minimig (e.g. for Right Amiga)
key_menu_as_rgui=1 set the MENU key map to RGUI
key_menu_as_rgui=0 dont set the MENU key map to RGUI
Display OSD menu rotated.
osd_rotate=0 no rotation
osd_rotate=1 rotate right (+90°)
osd_rotate=2 rotate left (-90°)
Set to 1 to enable showing recently played games. Once enabled, you can highlight or select the "Load file" option in a core menu and press the select button on your controller to show a list of recently loaded files. In the core selection menu, pressing select will show the recently loaded cores. Files and cores that have been moved or renamed since they were last loaded will appear faded out in the recents list.
(Note: using this mode increases writes to SD card, which may increase wear over the long term.)
recents=0 Default behavior - don't show recent files
recents=1 Show recent files
This sets a default filter for all cores if a video filter was not selected in the core settings.
vfilter_default=default.txt Use /media/fat/Filters/default.txt as default filter
This option makes the VGA (DB15) connector output of the scaler. In other words, it makes the VGA have the same resolution as HDMI (1080p or 720p, or as per your overall video settings).
vga_scaler=1 VGA DB15 connector will have the full scaler output
vga_scaler=0 VGA DB15 will have an independent video output, separate from main scaler (e.g. 240p or 480p)
Seconds to display video information on startup. Defaults to zero.
video_info=0 Do not display video info
video_info=1, video_info=10 Specify number of seconds to show video info
Options for integer scaling.
vscale_mode=0 scale to fit the screen height. Cores that allow for 5x vertical crop mode usually require this vscale mode in order to enable the feature. Ideal for fullscreen 1080p.
vscale_mode=1 use integer scale only.
vscale_mode=2 use 0.5 steps of scale.
vscale_mode=3 use 0.25 steps of scale.
Sets the vsync buffer mode for HDMI output. This setting does not affect direct video or analog output from the IO board.
Some HDMI displays can accept somewhat non-standard signals, allowing for lower display latency with MiSTer. It is recommended that you start with a setting of 0, and then try modes 1 and 2 to see if they work with your display or capture device. Different cores will have different results.
vsync_adjust=0 Default. Buffered 60hz HDMI video output, compatible with most HDMI devices.
vsync_adjust=1 Adjust output HDMI Vsync to match original Vsync. Lower latency than mode 0, but less compatible.
vsync_adjust=2 Low-latency mode, using the system's native pixel clock. This mode has the lowest latency, but it's the least-compatible.
Use YPbPr signal on VGA output.
ypbpr=1 activate YPbPr
ypbpr=0 deactivate YPbPr
It is possible to specify different settings for different cores; for example, you may prefer to use integer scaling just for the Game Boy Advance core so that you don't need any video filters for smooth scrolling. Simply add a section at the end of the INI file with the core name in brackets and paste your different settings below there, like so:
[GBA]
vscale_mode=1Or, suppose you wanted to add an option to select 8:7 aspect ratio for the SNES core:
[SNES]
custom_aspect_ratio_1=8:7The Menu core can have its own settings too. Create a section named [Menu] to specify settings for it.
MiSTer currently supports up to 3 additional INI files that can be toggled in the OSD menu, either by going to Misc. Options (press left while in the menu) or by holding the menu back button on your controller and pressing a direction. This is useful if you need to switch between video configurations often. To get started, make copies of your INI file and rename them:
mister_alt_1.ini activated by back + left
mister_alt_2.ini activated by back + up
mister_alt_3.ini activated by back + down
Additionally, you can switch back to your default mister.ini by pressing back + right or by selecting Main.
Your alt INI file will stay loaded across reboots and core changes until you turn the power off; mister.ini will always load by default when powering on. Note that if you switch INI files while a core is running, the core will reset.
So, you've got your MiSTer and followed the Setup Guide, now what?
Let's get you more familiar with what you can do!
/screenshots/)You'll need a USB keyboard to start and a wired internet connection is highly recommended.
Plug in the USB keyboard and your internet cable, and then power on the MiSTer. The red, orange and green led lights should start pulsing, and you should see the MiSTer menu onscreen after a second or two.
If you used the recommended setup method for your MicroSD from the Setup Guide, then your MicroSD already has the update.sh script in the /scripts/ folder. That means you can ignore this section.
If you didn't use the recommended method of installing to your MicroSD then we need to download the script from Github:
cd /media/fat/Scripts/ and press to go into the Scripts directory. If you get a message that says the directory is not found, then make the directory with mkdir /media/fat/Scripts/ to get around this, and then do the first line again.wget --no-check-certificate https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MiSTer-devel/Updater_script_MiSTer/master/update.sh -O update.sh and press enter.exit and press enter. If the menu and interface you saw when you first booted your MiSTer doesn't come up, then press F12.That will download the updater for you in the correct folder. We only need to download that script once. Once its installed, you can simply run the updater from the Scripts menu. We can now update the system from within MiSTer.
Tip - Press F12 to bring up the System Menu (if you press F12 again, it will show the core menu). Use the up and down arrow keys and enter to navigate the menu.
If you are unable to wget as instructed above, this might be because you are missing security certificate files. The default system comes with no security certificate files, which is a bit annoying, as you need to add --no-check-certificate on wget to download anything HTTPS. Lets fix that:
root as your username and 1 as your password.cd /etc/ssl/certs and press enter.wget --no-check-certificate https://curl.haxx.se/ca/cacert.pem and press enterAssuming it downloaded correctly, you can now use wget as nature intended!
Simply press F12 once or twice, until you see an option that says "Scripts" and select it. There will be a warning, make sure you read and understand this. Select "yes" and press enter to continue, and select "update" and press enter to begin your first update. This will download all of the latest releases of the official cores, scripts, and other files so you can start using your MiSTer.
MiSTer cores are regularly updated - sometimes daily, so run "update" regularly!
Ok, you're updated, now what?
Now you need to setup your MiSTer to receive files. Why, you may ask? You don't want to have to remove and put in the MicroSD every time you want to send ROMs to it do you? That can wear out the DE-10 Nano's MicroSD slot.
There are multiple methods of transferring files to the MiSTer. FTP can be turned on with the FTP script, so the MiSTer can serve as an FTP server waiting for an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to it. If SSH is turned on (using the ssh script that the updater should have downloaded), you can use a file transfer client capable of sending files via the SCP protocol like WinSCP. If you turn on your MiSTer's Samba Server, then you can open up the MiSTer's storage directly from Windows File Explorer by typing \\mister in the address bar and pressing enter.
Important note:
When you are connecting via SSH or using the linux terminal from the MiSTer itself, the MiSTer "root" directory that is often brought up in this wiki is located in /media/fat/. So if the wiki refers to the /games/ folder, that means on the MiSTer that is located in /media/fat/games/. If you are reading the MicroSD on your Windows PC with an adapter, or are connecting via SAMBA, then you will start in this root MiSTer folder /media/fat and not be able to go up any levels. This is normal.
Each MiSTer core has a different location that it looks to for roms by default, which resides in the /games/ folder. These are usually explained in the respective core's README file in the github repo. They typically are named after the core, such as:
/games/Genesis//games/MegaCD//games/C64/
You'll want to start copying the appropriate file backups of your cartridges/discs/cd's - i.e. roms to the appropriate locations for the core.
Some cores require boot.rom's and bios.roms, and other kinds of prerequisite files placed in the /games/$CORE/... folder for that core. For instance, the MegaCD core requires a Sega CD BIOS to work, and it would be placed here:
/games/MegaCD/cd_bios.rom
If you are using a usb gamepad or something similar, you will need to configure your input mapping. Press F12 once or twice until you see an option to Define joystick buttons, and select that option. Follow the on-screen prompts, skip anything that isn't relevant to your particular controller with the spacebar or the addon board's user button. If you make a mistake, don't worry, you can start over from the beginning.
For more details on how to configure your joysticks: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki/Main-Joystick-Mapping
Now you are likely ready to try and play a game. Use the main menu to navigate to the core you have already transferred the necessary roms and bios files to the core's games folder, and select the game you want to play, and enjoy your new FPGA-based gaming experience! :)
Cores on MiSTer are the result of the collaboration between many people and extensive testing, sometimes over many years and prior open-source projects. Most console and computer cores have now been compared to original hardware to a high level of precision (e.g. audio capture comparison), with the few issues remaining documented on their respective github repository pages. Please refer to these pages, per core, before submitting any issues.
The core links on the sidebar will bring you to the release folder on github, which will also allow you to find the Issues page and the readme files, listing all available features and limitations in detail per core.
The standard paths are of the form /media/fat/games/<CORE>, where <CORE> is the path of the given system.
Please check the respective README file for each core to determine the appropriate full path.
They are of the form /media/usb<0..5>/games/<CORE>. Where <0..5> indicates number of the USB drive mounted by the operating system.
They are of the form /media/fat/cifs/games/<CORE>.
There are other valid paths, that are available for backwards-compatibility reasons, and also to ease testing. You should use the standard paths instead whenever possible.
There is a priority order of core paths. When you plug in a USB drive and it has a folder /games/PSX on it (mounted locally as /media/usb<0..5>/games/PSX when plugged in), then the MiSTer PSX core will look to that folder on the USB drive instead of the local one on the MicroSD at /media/fat/games/PSX. Here is the priority list from Main_MiSTer's file_io.cpp in order of highest priority to lowest:
/media/fat/media/usb<0..5>/media/usb<0..5>/games/media/fat/cifs/media/fat/cifs/games/media/fat/gamesIf the core's folder isn't found in any of these it should create the folder.
A typical potential user will eventually ask, "Why do you need to use FPGA while other proven solutions exist, such as Raspberry Pi?"
There are debates about how to refer to the process of simulating real hardware using FPGA. Some people insist it's not emulation but rather true hardware replication, while any simulation using a traditional CPU should be referred to as emulation. I have my own opinion here. :) From my point of view, if the FPGA code is based on the circuitry of real hardware (along with the usual tweaks for FPGA compatibility), then it should be called replication. Anything else is emulation, since it uses different kinds of approximation to meet the same objectives. Currently, it's hard to find a core that can truly be called a replica – most cores are based on more-or-less functional recreations rather than true circuit recreation. The most widely used CPU cores – the Z80 (T80) and MC68000 (TG68K) – are pure functional emulations, not replications. So it's okay to call FPGA cores emulators, unless they are proven to be replicas.
To go back to the original question, then, why FPGA, if it's also just emulation? Well, FPGA emulation is fundamentally different than emulation on a CPU. Traditional emulators on CPUs execute code sequentially. This is a tricky method of emulation because real hardware has many chips and all of them work in parallel. The CPU, video chip/logic, audio chip, memory arbiter – all of them are working at the same time. So a traditional emulator has to take care of all these parts and try to emulate the whole orchestra at the same time by quickly "running" from one chip to another. This requires a lot of CPU power to emulate even an old and slow retro computer. Sometimes even a modern CPU working at 100 times the speed of the retro computer is not enough, so the emulator has to use approximation, skip emulation of some less important parts, or assume some standard work of the emulated system without extraordinary usage. Let's take a well-known emulator, UAE, emulating an Amiga. On a Raspberry Pi 3, you can run some Amiga CPU benchmarks and get crazy numbers like 100 times the original 68000 processor. So you may assume you have an emulated Amiga that is 100 times faster than real one. No, you don't. If you run different kinds of demos or games, you will see the video stutters sometimes. For example, if you play the well-known "State of The Art" demo by Spaceballs, you will notice video stuttering at some points, while a real Amiga 600 with 1x CPU speed plays the whole demo very smoothly. This is how traditional emulators on Raspberry Pi work.
FPGA emulation works very differently from traditional emulation on CPU. An FPGA is a large array of simple triggers and other logic – just like any other chip/CPU. The only difference is that specific chips/CPUs have these triggers and logic permanently connected, while FPGA allows you to connect them however you want. A special HDL (hardware description language) describes how to connect all these triggers/logic cells. Everything in FPGA works in parallel like in the original chips/devices. Thus, FPGA is pretty close to the original hardware. FPGA doesn't need high frequencies to emulate retro computers; it works at much lower frequencies than traditional emulators require. Since everything in FPGA works in parallel, it is no problem to handle any possible usage of the emulated system. Developers using FPGA usually concentrate on the specific part to make it work correctly – and it will work as it should in any possible scenario. In the same reference demo, "State Of the Art," using FPGA emulation, you can see smooth video through the whole playback, as on the original hardware.
You may want to ask, "So why not make all emulators on FPGA then?" The answer: FPGA programming is not so trivial. Every bit in FPGA works in parallel, so the developer needs to think in parallel as well :). What is trivial on CPU is not trivial on FPGA – although some parts that are trivial on FPGA cost a lot in CPU code.
A common concern among retro enthusiasts is whether a device of this sort has lag and whether it will create a less desirable experience compared to original hardware.
Every electronic equipment exhibits some kind of latency, but it only becomes problematic if this latency causes frames to be missed. A frame is typically 16ms for a system using a 60 frames per second (60 Hz) display.
Lag is only problematic in a few specific cases:
There are three major categories of lag. Input, which involves controllers, mouse, etc, Processing, which would involve buffering in the core, execution or delays in code and Display which involves the output of the video to your display device.
For a more detailed overview of lag and exploration of it, please refer to this page: https://inputlag.science/
For input, MiSTer primarily uses USB. In this case the overall input lag is the sum of the lag caused by the USB polling and the lag caused by the controller itself, how quickly it processes the signals. The latter is outside the scope of MiSTer and can only be improved by using a better controller. On the MiSTer side only the lag caused by the USB polling can be reduced if the connected USB device supports a lower polling interval. The polling interval is measured in Hz and indicates how often a USB device is polled per second. At 1000 Hz, a USB device is polled 1000 times per second, which means the additional lag caused by the polling is 1 s / 1000 = 1 ms in the worst case and 0.5 ms on average. This is a great improvement compared to the default value of 125 Hz, where a USB device is polled 125 times per second, which means the additional lag caused by the polling is 1 s / 125 = 8 ms in the worst case and 4 ms on average.
If a game is rendered at 60 frames per second, a single frame takes 1 s / 60 ≈ 16 ms to process. One might think that any polling interval below 16 ms would be perfect; however, USB polling happens independently of the vertical sync. Therefore, even with a 1 ms polling interval, there is a chance of 1/16 that the whole frame will be missed and input will be processed on the next frame. The longer the polling interval, the greater the odds of a missed frame. With a polling interval of 8 ms, the odds of input missing a frame are 50%. Native polling rates and input response vary across consoles and even games.
This is one core advantage of emulation using FPGAs. Unlike software emulators which go through a cycle of executing, and then waiting for a screen refresh, FPGA cores run in real time, as the original hardware did. This means that cores don’t have CPU bottlenecks to slow them down arbitrarily or require additional large buffers to hold data under most circumstances.
MiSTer’s two primary display outputs are analog and HDMI.
The analog output is driven as the original system would have, with no buffering, and so it will be effectively identical to the latency of a real console. From this point of view, the analog output cannot have any form of lag.
When using HDMI output the image must be scaled up to fit the higher resolutions, which requires additional processing. The MiSTer scaler has options which impact its latency. Using vsync_adjust=2 in the ini file will result in about 4 scanlines of latency, while 0 or 1 will result in up to roughly 2 frames of latency, with the added advantage of being more compatible with displays.
In addition your own television or monitor may introduce more latency, but this varies by device and no definite number can be given on that here.
In summary, if lag is critical to you, it's best to play on a CRT using a recommended and widely-tested USB controller. Some users have tested and ranked USB controllers by performance; you can see their results here. An alternate thorough list of tested controllers by misteraddons is also available here
Do keep in mind, however, that even over HDMI MiSTer is capable of providing a better experience than many other devices.
MiSTer offers options in how to configure its HDMI upscaler, making a tradeoff between compatibility and low latency. These can be set in the MiSTER.INI file at the root of the SD card:
vsync_adjust=2 is the best option if it is compatible with your TV. This mode uses the original refresh rate and pixel clock of the core, resulting in no additional latency.vsync_adjust=1 is the second best option, but it adds up to 2 frames of latency. This mode uses a framebuffer but maintains the system's original vsync and varies the pixel clock per core.vsync_adjust=0 is the lesser option, but the most compatible. Up to 2 frames of latency and less smooth scrolling. This mode guarantees 60 hz output with an NTSC standard pixel clock.USB controllers usually have an interval value which the host (MiSTer Linux kernel) respects to poll their inputs at. Most USB devices can actually perform better by being polled more often without any side effects.
To set a higher USB polling rate, you need to go to the "linux" subdirectory on your SD card and rename "u-boot.txt_example" to "u-boot.txt". The aforementioned file contains the following options, which should only be changed if you are encountering problems:
v=loglevel=4 usbhid.jspoll=1 xpad.cpoll=1
loglevel: 4 is the default value. You can set this to 9 to get debugging messages with dmesg command via SSH. If you just want to know which values of usbhid.jspoll and xpad.cpoll are applied to your controller, there are easier ways to achieve this (see below).
usbhid.jspoll: specifies the interval for USB HID controllers, usually DirectInput.
systool -m usbhid -A jspoll from the Linux shell.xpad.cpoll: specifies the interval for USB XInput controllers. Most popular controllers use this. There is no practical difference here. XInput is for Microsoft's Xbox consoles and PC.
systool -m xpad -A cpoll from the Linux shell.MiSTer supports many different USB input devices.
Any USB HID compatible device will be recognized.
For recommendations you can refer to Selecting Input Devices.
A keyboard can emulate other input devices, so basically it is enough to control all cores.
MiSTer keyboard features a flexible key re-mapping function, mouse and gamepad emulation, and more.
See Keyboard for details
MiSTer supports up to 3 buttons (exact number of mouse buttons is core-dependent).
Most USB wired and wireless mice, trackballs and touchpads will work.
MiSTer has a powerful set of features for USB gaming controllers:
Up to 6 player controllers are supported (depending on core):
USB joysticks, gamepads, and keyboards need to be defined in the central menu before use in any core. Please refer to Main Joystick Mapping
Any defined button (except d-pad) supports auto fire feature. To activate auto fire, press and keep desired button and then quickly press the button defined as "BUTTON OSD"(for joystick) or "KBD TOGGLE"(for keyboard). To deactivate auto fire, repeat the the same procedure.
Auto fire provides 50ms-1000ms rates. To choose the speed, press and keep one of direction on d-pad and then quickly press the button defined as "BUTTON OSD"(for joystick) or "KBD TOGGLE"(for keyboard).
Joystick can emulate mouse if required button "Mouse Emu" has been defined in default joystick definition (Menu core). Hold "Mouse Emu" button and "Alt/M", Mouse Left/Right/Middle Btn will emulate the mouse functions. Also defined analog stick for mouse will be switched to pointer functions. Press "BUTTON OSD" while holding "Mouse Emu" to toggle mouse emulation permanently. In permanent mouse emulation "Mouse Emu" button becomes a sniper button (smaller pointer movements). Only buttons defined for mouse emulation will be switched. Other joystick buttons will continue to act as joystick buttons. Thus, if your game pad has many buttons, you can have both mouse and joystick in one game pad at the same time (useful for some games, like Walker on Amiga).
MiSTer supports the use of a JammaSD by detecting if the pressed buttons are from player 1 or 2.
You first have to configure player 1 in main menu (as a joypad) (and also remap it in cores if needed).
Player 2 inputs will be auto defined, like if it was a second identical joypad.
JammaSD support was added with a VID/PID that should be the same across all devices, but if your device has a different VID/PID, you can adjust it in the MiSTer.ini file.
Most USB controllers that support HID will work with MiSTer.
There are some known issues with some famous brands which may be worth being aware of, in order to select the best options for your own preferences. More below.
Almost any standard USB controller will work well with MiSTer, however there is a short list of excellent controllers that we can suggest based on user feedback and input lag testing:
Generally speaking, while Bluetooth connected devices will work fine, you can expect the highest amount of input latency while using your controller in this way.
Please keep in mind, “high latency” controllers should add, at most, 16 ms (1/60th of a second) or one frame (or rarely, depending on the controller, 32ms) of lag, and not constantly, to your experience, which is not a lot of lag, so if you’re not the type of person who notices that, you can safely just use any decent USB controller. Variable lag (the input response varying between 1 and 3 frames, for instance) is more noticeable than consistent lag. There are very few controllers which add more than 1 frame of lag.
For a set of devices tested with MiSTer, you can refer to this USB controller performance data.
Please see these article for more information about USB controller lag
High performance and expensive keyboards and mice aren't good for MiSTer. They won't give any benefits, so it's just waste of money. Also these devices have too many functions and many virtual devices cluttering input subsystem which may introduce input lag or be complete unresponsive. They may prevent other devices such as gamepads to work. So try to avoid these gaming Chrismas-Tree like keyboards and mice. Buy a simple one.**
These are known to have some problem with MiSTer. They have accelerometers which constantly sends the events with high rate. Analog sticks also send events even when not touched. Overall, MiSTer receives a flood of events from these controllers, and these extra events may prevent correct button definition. Games may behave incorrectly when using these controllers.
The ideal solution today for these gamepads is to use 3rd-party receivers, such as 8bitdo retro receivers, specifically the 8Bitdo Wireless Bluetooth Adapter. Not only it gives you wireless access, but also filters out all these unneeded events, while supporting Xbox One S/X, PS3, PS4, Wii, Switch, and 8Bitdo's own gamepads. One receiver will pair with one controller at one time. If multiple controllers are required for multiplayer games, then multiple receivers will need to be purchased.
The Grey/Orange (brick decorated) USB Adapters are functionally the same, after using the latest firmware. Gamepads may switch to different input modes using hotkeys for different functionality. Note that documentation on 8Bitdo's site doesn't specify this, but the update logs for the firmware updates does.
Alternative 8Bitdo adapters, such as the 8Bitdo Console Retro Receiver (SNES, NES, Genesis) are always in X-Input mode when connected via microUSB.
Bluetooth Adapters and Dongles:
Any off-the-shelf bluetooth dongles will work with most wireless controllers like Dualshock4, Xbox, 8Bitdo.
See Bluetooth for details
Before using any controller with a MiSTer core, it must be defined in the main menu core
MiSTer has a simple three-step mapping system:
1 - Mapping of MiSTer gamepad into cores has two "flavors" of operation, chosen by INI file. More below.
Community-created controller mappings can be found in this repository.
They need to be extracted into SD card folder:
/media/fat/Inputs/
Alternatively you can define your own mappings following the steps below.
The first step is to teach MiSTer to recognize your physical controller.
This is done in the menu shown at startup.
After plugging a keyboard, press F12 to show system settings and select "Define joystick buttons"
MiSTer will then ask you to assign several buttons to your controller:
Here is a conceptual representation of the MiSTer Gamepad:
MiSTer internally recognizes more buttons (and two analogue sticks), but the above is the minimum required to work on most cores. You can also ignore the analogue stick as long as you do not use the few cores that require it (e.g. Apple II, Atari 5200).
This step is exclusively handled in the main startup menu. You can override it by re-doing a mapping from inside a core.
MiSTer uses USB HID to handle controllers. Each controller is recognized by a unique USB ID (VID:PID) and declares what it can do (does it have d-pad? how many buttons?). This information does not contain any physical information (which button is "A", where it is located...) and you may want to decide which buttons to specifically assign for each function.
That is where you come in. MiSTer will ask you to:
Then it will ask you to assing:
And finally it will ask to select:
See below for a more technical description of each step.
During the mapping you can press:
The screen will also display the VID:PID (the USB ID) of your controller.
Calibration
Virtual D-Pad and Buttons
Alternate layout and Mouse emulation
System and analog stick selection
Note: Keyboard can be used as joystick. So you have to define the keyboard as joystick in both Menu core and the core you want to use!
Mapping settings are specific to each device (identified by VID and PID). If you have several identical gamepads/joysticks then they will share the same button layout.
The number of button supported per core varies (up to 32). While defining buttons, you can press "SPACE" to skip (keep undefined) the button, "ESC" to cancel, and "Enter" to stop mapping (i.e. make the rest of buttons undefined).
When overriding gamepad settings inside a core it is possible to define button combinations (e.g. A+B) if you have enough physical buttons.
To allow for this, MiSTer will ask if you want to setup "alternate mappings" after defining a gamepad.
Alternate mappings are active in parallel and allow two kinds of abilities: map two physical button to the same core button (e.g. alternate button for Start), or map one physical button to two-button combo in the core (e.g. map physical X to thr core's A+B).
The simplest is to map an extra physical button. Only this additional button needs to be defined in the alternate map, as follows:
| map | d-pad | A | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 2 |
| alt | skip | skip | Btn 3 |
The result of using this setup ia that you will have physical buttons 2 and 3 mapped to the core button B.
This also works with gamepad directions. For example, for games that use Up as a jump button, it is possible to map a physical third button to jump.
A more advanced setup is to use both mappings in parallel to make one physical button push two core buttons at the same time.
See the table below:
| map | d-pad | A | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 3 |
| alt | skip | Btn 3 | Btn 2 |
The result of this is that Button 1 will be A, Button 2 will be B, and Button 3 will be A+B.
This is particularly useful for the Neogeo core where some fighting games use A+B and C+D as "strong hit".
(note: unfortunately NeoGeo games are not consistent with each other - so it is not possible to set one mapping for all games)
Assume a six button arcade controller (for Street Fighter 2) with 3 punch buttons on top and 3 kick buttons below.
We will map the buttons so that Breakers / Breakers' revenge has the same kind of layout.
This particular game uses the following attack buttons:
In addition, most characters have an extra "command" move mapped to:
To match the Street Fighter 2 layout, we can assign this across six buttons:
| - | Weak | Strong | Weak+Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | A | C | A + C |
| Kick | B | D | B + D |
Which translates to the following buttons:
| - | Weak | Strong | Weak+Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | Btn 1 | Btn 2 | Btn 3 |
| Kick | Btn 4 | Btn 5 | Btn 6 |
To obtain this, input the following assignment during main and alternate mapping:
| map | d-pad | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 4 | Btn 3 | Btn 6 |
| alt | skip | Btn 3 | Btn 6 | Btn 2 | Btn 5 |
(in alternate mapping, d-pad and all other buttons can be skipped)
Both of these game use the same attack layout as Breakers but their button combination differs:
| - | Weak | Strong | Combo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | A | C | A + B |
| Kick | B | D | C + D |
To map this, we need to switch things around a little bit:
| map | d-pad | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 3 | Btn 2 | Btn 6 |
| alt | skip | Btn 3 | Btn 4 | Btn 6 | Btn 5 |
This game has yet another layout, changing the order of base attacks:
| - | Weak | Medium | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slash | A | B | A + B |
| Kick | C | D | C + D |
We can map this as follows:
| map | d-pad | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 3 | Btn 4 | Btn 6 |
| alt | skip | Btn 3 | Btn 2 | Btn 6 | Btn 5 |
Very similar to the above but a different button combo:
| - | Weak | Medium | Special |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slash | A | B | B + C |
| Kick | C | D | C + D |
In this case, it is not possible to map C three times so we must choose whether to map B+C or C+D.
| map | d-pad | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 2 | Btn 3 | Btn 5 |
| alt | skip | skip | Btn 3 | Btn 4 | skip |
(Btn 6 remains unassigned)
| map | d-pad | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | define | Btn 1 | Btn 2 | Btn 6 | Btn 5 |
| alt | skip | skip | skip | Btn 4 | Btn 6 |
(Btn 3 remains unassigned)
Supported devices: Gamepads, Keyboards, Touch pads(as a part of multifunctional keyboard). Support for mouse and standalone touch pads is unclear. Need to be tested.
Bluetooth host must be a standalone USB BT dongle. Multifunctional dongles such as WiFi+BT probably won't work. Confirmed to work dongles based on CSR8510 and BCM20702 chips. Most (if not all) BT dongles you can buy today are based on these chips.
Either press and hold OSD button on I/O board for 3 seconds, or F11 key (only when OSD is active).
Note: Dualshock 4 gamepad is a standard BT gamepad. So follow the first paring method.
hcitool dev to see if your BT dongle is recognized.hcitool scan will scan and print a list of recognized Bluetooth clients.btpair starts the same Bluetooth pairing script accessible via F11 in the MiSTer menu.Wiimote is supported natively from Linux release 20190510. It needs to be paired just like any other BT device. You must use red sync button on the back of Wiimite (Pairing by buttons 1+2 doesn't work!).
It's recommended to use the first Wiimote version (the one without integrated Motion Plus). This Wiimote just need to be paired once and it will automatically connect on next powering the Wiimote. Second version of Wiimote (with integrated Motion Plus, TR) is also supported but it won't be able to automatically connect later (probably due to very short time it gives to re-connect), so you have to pair it every time you want to use. 3rd party Wiimotes may or may not work, or work with problems. So it's advised to use official Wiimote.
Nunchuck and Classic Controller connected to Wiimote are supported. Mayflash Gamecube adapter for Wiimote is also supported.
To fully utilize the Wiimote you have to connect IR bar to power. You can buy a 3rd part IR bar with USB connector or modify original one to get the power from USB.
Dolphinbar is supported at some degree. You can use modes 1 and 2 as a light gun or mouse control in some cores (Wiimote is connected to P2 joystick, so you need to select Light Gun on Joystick 2 port in the core with mouse as a trigger). Mode 3 can be used as a traditional gamepad. Mode 4 (the main mode) is not supported due to absence of Linux drivers.
Overall Dolphinbar is quite useless and not recommended due to non-working mode 4. Native Wiimote support can do everything with traditional dummy IR bar.
MiSTer supports keys re-mapping which is useful for reduced or localized keyboards. Key remapping is system wide, so every core will have same key map. Keep in mind it's not macro definition, so single key is remapped to another single key. Some multimedia keys generate several key codes - these keys cannot be remapped. Each keyboard model has its own key map stored in /media/fat/config/kbd_[VID]_[PID].map file. To reset all keys to default state, simply delete appropriate map file. Key remapping is available through Menu core only.
Keyboard can be switched to joystick emulation. You need to define keys used for joystick emulation the same way you did for joysticks. Auto fire is also supported the same way as for joysticks. Button defined for "KBD TOGGLE" provides a quick switch between keyboard and joystick for defined keys.
Keyboard can be switched to mouse emulation. You need to define mouse emulation buttons in Menu core the same way as for joystick.
To switch between emulation modes press NumLock or ScrLock till desired mode is selected.
Switching sequence is Mouse >> Joy1 >> Joy2 >> None
LEDs on keyboard display the emulation modes:
You have assembled an arcade cabinet and looking for connecting your joysticks and buttons? You don't need to buy any of those expensive adapters. All you need is USB keyboard which you can disassemble.
After disassembling the keyboard you need to find the row and column contacts on board for following keys:
5, 1P coin
1, 1P start (shift key)
UP, 1P up
DOWN, 1P down
LEFT, 1P left
RIGHT, 1P right
LEFTCTRL, 1P button 1
LEFTALT, 1P button 2
SPACE, 1P button 3
LEFTSHIFT, 1P button 4
Z, 1P button 5
X, 1P button 6
C, 1P button 7
V, 1P button 8
6, 2P coin
2, 2P start
R, 2P up
F, 2P down
D, 2P left
G, 2P right
A, 2P button 1
S, 2P button 2
Q, 2P button 3
W, 2P button 4
I, 2P button 5
K, 2P button 6
J, 2P button 7
L, 2P button 8
9, Test
TAB, Tab (shift + 1P right)
ENTER, Enter (shift + 1P left)
P, P (pause) (shift + 1P down)
F1, Service
F2, Test
F3, TiltYou can use multi-meter to find the contacts.
Then connect your buttons/joystick to board according to table above. Your hardware part is done.
Connect your modded arcade keyboard to USB and start Menu core, then go to Define Joystick buttons. Press any button, and you will see "Keyboard ID: XXXX:YYYY" where XXXX:YYYY is HW identifier of the keyboard. Press ESC to ext from this dialog.
Now open MiSTer.ini and add following options there:
jamma_vid=XXXX
jamma_pid=YYYYXXXX and YYYY are those IDs you saw for your modded keyboard. Save and restart Menu core.
Go to Define Joystick buttons again and assign buttons using P1 buttons. Note it now writes "Joystick ID: XXXX:YYYY" (instead of Keyboard) which means it recognizes your modded keyboard as jamma 2-player input device. P2 buttons will be automatically assigned the same as for P1.
Now your Arcade input device is ready to use. Unlike normal gamepads/joysticks, this device will always assign P1 and P2 inputs statically regardless P1 or P2 button was pressed first.
For now, the easiest way to configure WIFI is by pressing the F12 button for the MiSTer menu, go to the scripts folder and run the WIFI script. Better instructions coming soon!!
Starting from Release 20180115 MiSTer supports some WiFi USB modules.
In Menu core you will see WiFi icon when WiFi is connected.
Some WiFi firmwares can be found here: https://github.com/wkennington/linux-firmware
Instructions for rtl8188fu based adapters (like the Zapo RTL8188 USB stick) can be read here:
MiSTer custom WiFi driver compilation
Steps can be adapted for other WiFi adapters.
If you are having trouble with staying reliably connected to your WiFi, try separating the SSID's for your 2.4GHz and your 5GHz connections on your Router's firmware configuration. This should help solve the problem. If not, it is possible there is something wrong with your WiFi adapter, or it is not fully supported by the current build of Linux for the MiSTer project.
MiSTer board can be access through on-board Ethernet port. System has FTP, SSH, SFTP services running.
User name: root Password: 1
When using FTP, make sure your file transfers are in Binary not ASCII. ASCII-type transfers will result in corruption of that data. A good FTP client for Windows that defaults to Binary and supports FTP as well as SFTP and SCP (ssh copy) is WinSCP.
By default, DHCP is used to acquire an IP address for the board. You can find it from your router (easier way), or from console connected to the board using the command ifconfig
The default MAC address for the on-board Ethernet port is 02:03:04:05:06:07. Please consider this when connecting more than one MiSTer board via the on-board Ethernet port to your network.
TODO: How to setup a custom MAC address.
dhcpcd is currently the easiest way to set up static IPs. You can add a new static address profile by editing the /etc/dhcpcd.conf file and adding a new block defining the static IP. For example adding:
interface wlan0
static ip_address=192.168.0.64/24
static routers=192.168.0.1
static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1to the bottom of /etc/dhcpcd.conf defines a new static IP for the wlan0 (wi-fi) interface. It has the static IP 192.168.0.64 and points to the router/gateway at 192.168.0.1 with DNS coming from 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1 as a secondary option.
After a quick restart of the MiSTer you should be able to verify these new static IPs by running the command ip address:
/root# ip address
[...]
3: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
link/ether 28:87:ba:39:aa:9d brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.0.6/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global wlan0
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet 192.168.0.64/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global secondary noprefixroute wlan0
valid_lft forever preferred_lft foreverAs seen here, the 192.168.0.64 address is now assigned to this interface. Above that is IP assigned dynamically (192.168.0.6).
You can also setup your on-board network connection by editing
/etc/network/interfaces. This is currently not advised. Because if you have a DHCP server in your network, the network stack will still contact the DHCP server and assign the returned IP address regardless, leading to usually unwanted behavior.
mc (midnight commander) file manager is available for easier folder navigation.
The root of SD card: /media/fat
Related: Serial Console Access
You can access the MiSTer through Samba network.
Using Samba you can work with files much the same way that you work with files locally on your PC, with a File Explorer, clicking and dragging, etc... This is much easier for most people.
Samba (also known as SMB) is the native protocol for Windows shares. MiSTer already has FTP and SSH services, but Samba has a special feature: Windows treats Samba shares as a local filesystem.
For example, with FTP/SFTP,, if you want to view or edit a file, then you need to download it fully first. With Samba, only a small required portion of file will be loaded. If you are editing a large file of 100MB+, then it makes big difference. Similarly, if you want to use a HEX editor, you don't need to download the whole file. Just open the file in a HEX editor and only small portion will be loaded where you can quickly edit required bytes and save it back quickly.
This means that with Samba access, you can mount VHD files on your PC without downloading them! Use a utility such as ImDisk to can mount VHD files as a local disk (mount it as removable store for easier un-mounting).
By default Samba service is not active. Follow the following instructions to turn it on:
/media/fat/linux/_samba.sh to /media/fat/linux/samba.sh in the terminal/console on the MiSTer by running the following command: mv /media/fat/linux/_samba.sh /media/fat/linux/samba.sh\\192.168.1.100\) or by hostname (e.g. \\MiSTer or \\mister as it is not case sensitive).OPTIONAL: Edit this file if you want a specific username and password (default is user root with pass 1)
MiSTer. Usually you will not need this to log in.\\MiSTer\sdcard\) instead of just the hostname. This is due to a limitation of Windows itself ever since Windows Vista. It can be disabled by enabling SMBv1 client services manually in Windows but this is not advised as SMBv1 is not secure and has multiple security exploits.\\mister\ directly to avoid this.If you're using a Windows OS (Vista and above) while trying to access the share and the credentials do not work, there may be a possibility that the LAN Manager authentication level is not being worked out correctly between the Windows OS and the Samba daemon on MiSTer.
The error message may manifest itself as a The specified network password is not correct error. A fix is to lower the Samba NTLM authentication level on the MiSTer to NTLM v1.
This is done with the following steps:
nano /etc/samba/smb.conf[global]
min protocol = SMB2
ntlm auth = yes/etc/init.d/S91smb restartYou should see no errors when manually restarting. e.g./root# /etc/init.d/S91smb restart
Shutting down SMB services: OK
Shutting down NMB services: OK
Starting SMB services: OK
Starting NMB services: OKAlternatively, on the Windows OS, change the Windows registry HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\LMCompatibilityLevel to 3. Note that you may/may not have permission depending on your security policy or Administrator rights. This is described by Microsoft at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/network-security-lan-manager-authentication-level.Starting from 2018 may 7 release MiSTer supports serial (UART) connection from FPGA to Linux. Linux OS runs PPP or Console daemon on this connection allowing access the internet or Linux shell from FPGA cores.
OSD provides an option to switch between PPP and Console on these cores. Both console and PPP are using baud rate 115200 8N1 mode with hardware RTS/CTS flow control for stability.
Using this connection with supported terminal application on FPGA core, you can access the Linux shell and do some file managements or Linux settings if required. No special settings are required of Linux.
Using this connection core may have internet connection. More important, the core may run ftp daemon and provide access to its filesystem, so you can use FTP client on PC to move the files to/from the emulated system.
PPP daemon uses /media/fat/linux/ppp_options (linux\ppp_options of PC) file. Most likely you don't need to modify it. Recent update assigns IPs automatically. Core gets <your_net>.254 IP (for example 192.168.1.254). If you want other IP, then modify ppp_options file. For correct PPP work, make sure you see a network icon in Menu core before starting the other core. Otherwise PPP link won't get IPs. If you've started core earlier, then simply connect the core to PPP and disconnect. Next connection will get correct IP. Or you can switch UART mode in OSD to renew the IP.
NOTE: I'm looking Amiga and MSDOS terminal supporting color and control codes of linux, so it will be possible to use Midnight Commander in terminal connection. If you know such terminal application, then let me know.
Unfortunately winsock and winsock2 provided by Microsoft do not work with the ppp connection when in Windows 95. The following steps will allow you to get it working.
Device Manager Tab, there should be a twisty called Ports(COM & LPT) and under that a "Communications Port (COM1)"
Under the Driver section select the PPP radio button and click on "Dialer settings..."
"COMM port" COM1
"Baud rate" 115200
Win95 is rather slow so let it start fully before starting the PPP manager (Tcpman)
Once it is started it will begin syncing with PPP on the linux host . . . Be patient it takes a few seconds.
When you see the PPP[C021] SND and RCV you can start your TCP/IP program
The following is an example for connecting to a BBS using Striketerm 2014.
The DE10-nano board has console port. The console allows you to login into Linux without a network connection and also provides some debug/info which sometimes useful to track the problems.
Refer to the UART-to-USB (USB Mini-B) connector on the board right side in the picture below:
Connect the DE10-nano board to a PC using the UART-to-USB (USB mini type B) connector next to micro-USB. The PC will recognize it as virtual COM port. Use any console application to connect to this COM port. I recommend Putty.
Verify that COM port settings are correct:
$ stty -F /dev/ttyUSB0 115200 cs8 -cstopb -parenb -ixoff -ixoncat /dev/ttyUSB0 | tee mr.logNow mr.log has a copy of all the information shown in the screen.
To interrupt u-boot and get into the u-boot command prompt once connected to the DE10-Nano, hold 'ESC' on the PC and then power on or reboot the Nano (using the reset button). Startup should be interrupted and you should see a '=>' prompt. Here you can edit the kernel boot options etc.
Cheats should be stored in: cheats/system/rom_filename.zip where system is name of the core like NES, SNES, Genesis, etc..
So, for example:
cheats/NES/Taboo (USA).zip for the NES ROM Taboo (USA).nes
The filename of the zip must match the ROM name exactly. Cheats will be loaded automatically when you load a ROM, and can be enabled and disabled from the menu in supported cores.
If the .zip cheat file does not match the ROM name, the cheat engine will automatically check the ROM CRC32 and select the appropriate .zip cheat file with matching CRC32 accordingly. ROM name matching has priority over CRC32 checking.
Individual cheats are in .gg format and should be stored in zip files. Packs of codes can be downloaded from https://gamehacking.org/ by selecting the MiSTer format and choosing to save all codes for a given game.
All types of cheat codes for 16 bit systems and earlier can be decoded into four pieces of information: An address, a compare value, a replace value, and usually a flag to say if the compare value is used or not. The format for a gg file is in binary as 4 32 bit integers in little-endian byte order.
For example, if the Address is 0xFF1CA0 and the compare value is 0xB5 and the replace value is 0xFF, the file would look like this:
01 00 00 00 A0 1C FF 00 B5 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00
The first four bytes are little-endian 0x00000001 for "compare enabled", the second four are little-endian address, third set are compare value, and fourth is replace value. Note that not all codes use a compare value.
For cheats with multiple codes, simply add another 16 bytes at the end of the file in the same format as the first.
You can decode game genie codes into these values with tools like this: https://gamehacking.org/system/nes
If you use MiSTer you should be using a custom filter for upscaling if you want high quality without uneven scaling and shimmering during scrolling.
The MiSTer Filters and Gamma Github repository is here: MiSTer Filters and Gamma Github
As of November 2018, MiSTer can use custom filter coefficients to define the interpolation used for scaling over the HDMI output (and VGA too with a mister.ini option). This allows MiSTer to scale images using well-known image scaling algorithms such as bicubic or lanczos scaling as well as other scaling methods better suited to scaling pixel graphics. Special effects such as scanlines and lcd effects are also possible.
This github repository houses all of the Interpolation Filters that have been created so far for MiSTer: MiSTer Filters/Gamma Github Repository
As of November 2019 this github also contains Gamma Lookup Tables to allow MiSTer apply a gamma curves to cores with an updated framework. James-F has created a number of curves that are included in the Gamma folder of this repository.
To use any of the pre-made filter coefficients (or your own) you need:
An updated version of MiSTer (Main_MiSTer). The first release with support was MiSTer_20181116.
A supported core. Nearly all cores should have support now, but some Arcade Cores still have not been updated to the newer MiSTer framework as of November 2019.
Filters. Filters are text files containing the coefficients for a specific interpolation method. All filters must go in the Filters directory on your MiSTer SD card. The most common way to obtain a set of filters is to run the MiSTer updater script (if your MiSTer has network access). You can also download a release ZIP file from this repository or download a copy of this repository and copy the Filters folder over to your SD card by hand.
Filter Releases are here: MiSTer Filters/Gamma Release Folder
Once you have updated MiSTer and Cores and your filter/gamma coefficients in the right place you simply
Q: What filters should I use?
A: Use "Interpolation (Sharp)" and "SNES Interpolation (Sharp)" if you don't care for scanlines and just want good interpolation.
But all of the filters Filters root are "Recommended Filters". So Interpolation (Sharp), Scanlines (Sharp), Scanlines (Soft), Vertical Scanlines (Sharp), Vertical Scanlines (Soft), LCD (Monochrome), and LCD (Color) are good defaults for most MiSTer cores.
Q: Why would I want to use custom filter coefficients?
A: The default scaling algorithm of MiSTer is Nearest Neighbor/Lanczos and is not ideal for upscaling pixel graphics. The filters allow much better looking scaling and special effects such as scanlines.
Q: Doesn't MiSTer already have scanlines through the "Scandoubler FX" option in the OSD?
A: Yes, but the scanlines available with "Scandoubler FX" are aligned to the scandoubled image and the scanlines through the filter coefficients are aligned to the original pixels in the scanline. So you achieve better scanlines with filter coefficients in most cases.
Q: Where do I get sets of Filter Coefficients or Gamma LUTs?
A: Here. Or the update script which will get them from here. This is the official place to get these filters as of Dec 03, 2018
Q: Why are some filters labeled "SNES"?
A: MiSTer's SNES core outputs a 512 pixel wide image even when the SNES is in it's 256 pixel wide mode. This makes the horizontal interpolation too sharp. The SNES specific filters take this into account.
Q: What do some filters have "NN" appended to the name?
A: Some people set MiSTer to scale to do integer scaling for the vertical upscaling (by setting vscale_mode=1 in mister.ini). If you do this you can use the "NN" filters that only enable interpolation for horizontal scaling.
Q: Where is a filter that does XXXXX?
A: Check the subfolders for many filters. Only a few are in the Filters root folder to make choosing a filter easier for newbies and non-technical people. But there are many more to choose from.
The Filters folder contains a set of recommended filters for general use. There are samples in the Samples folder of this repository. View these images at full size to make a proper evaluation.
Interpolation (Sharp):
Scanlines (Sharp):
Scanlines (Soft):
LCD Effect (Monochrome):
LCD Effect (Color):
Vertical Scanlines (Soft):
The commercial VIP scaler implements a generic 4 tap, 16 phase polyphase filter. The open source ASCAL scaler that MiSTer uses now implements the same type of filter for scaling. Details are on page 189 of the VIP scaler docs here: Intel VIP Scaler Doc
The Zipcores Application Notes pdf explains the workings of the filter much better than the ALtera/Intel docs: Zipcores Application Notes
Most of the currently available filter coefficients were generated with the Matlab code here: https://github.com/ghogan42/Filter-Coefficients-For-MiSTer
# range -128..128 # sum of line must not exceed the range! # Sharp Bilinear on x-axis and y-axis # 40% Scanlines on y-axis # horizontal coefficients 0, 128, 0, 0 0, 128, 0, 0 0, 127, 1, 0 0, 125, 3, 0 0, 120, 8, 0 0, 112, 16, 0 0, 101, 27, 0 0, 85, 43, 0 0, 64, 64, 0 0, 43, 85, 0 0, 27, 101, 0 0, 16, 112, 0 0, 8, 120, 0 0, 3, 125, 0 0, 1, 127, 0 0, 0, 128, 0 # vertical coefficients 0, 128, 0, 0 0, 126, 1, 0 0, 116, 5, 0 0, 102, 10, 0 0, 86, 16, 0 0, 71, 21, 0 0, 57, 26, 0 0, 46, 31, 0 0, 38, 38, 0 0, 31, 46, 0 0, 26, 57, 0 0, 21, 71, 0 0, 16, 86, 0 0, 10, 102, 0 0, 5, 116, 0 0, 1, 126, 0
Cores need to be update with new framework. Cores released from 2020/06/18 and later should support audio filters.
Filter setting files should be placed into Filters_Audio
Each file is simple text file with extension txt.
Example of filter file:
# version
v1
# sampling frequency
# must be multiple of 48000 for best results
7056000
#base gain
0.00000316778645516
#gain scale for X0
2
#gain scale for X1
1
#gain scale for X2
0
#coefficient for Y0
-1.9974813602
#coefficient for Y1
0.9974845280
#coefficient for Y2
0MiSTer has the ability to capture screenshots of a running core. This is useful for many things, including "saving" passwords.
Press Win + Print Screen (⌘ + F13) to capture a screenshot from the scaled video output. In order to instead grab a screenshot at the core's native video resolution, press Win + Left Shift + Print Screen.
Output files are stored in /media/fat/screenshots/
Here is the release with full-featured Desktop Linux with GUI and Update 20180502 (custom video mode support)
Make sure you use MiSTer Linux release from 2018 Apr 7 or later. Extract the archive to the root of MiSTer SD card FAT partition.
Desktop Linux is based on Ubuntu 16.04 with LXDE distributed by Terasic with DE10-nano board. It's light-weight linux. Frame buffer has been completely rewritten with configurable resolution and integrated scaler. Audio output is also implemented unlike original Terasic version. VGA and all MiSTer audio outputs are supported.
How it works? If core (rbf file) has the text file with the same name, then it means MiSTer will reboot and will use additional sets of u-boot commands from that txt file. That's how alternative kernel and linux image are used. It's not really tied to Linux only. If there will be other cores requiring special code on ARM side, then it will be run the same way. Even bare-metal projects can be loaded.
One RBF file can have several configs using RBF as a base name + additional suffix. Several configs are included in release. Video card emulated in FPGA has 2 resolutions:
Thus Linux may have any resolutions up to 1920x1080, including non-standard ones.
All video parameters are passed as kernel parameters in config file (txt). Parameters are:
Box resolution is added around Linux resolution before up/down scaling. It's used to add horizontal/vertical fields in order to correct aspect ratio - i.e. letterboxing. By default Linux resolution will be boxed automatically, so bgwidth/bgheight usually are not required.
Check supplied config files to see how to use the parameters. Leave other text as-is if you don't know what it does. Text file uses Linux line endings, so you need to use compatible text editor if you edit it on Windows PC.
Note: Linux image is mounted as read-write, so avoid from turning off or reset without proper shutdown! I suggest to choose "Reboot" instead of "Shutdown" so MiSTer will reboot into MiSTer menu where you can simply turn off the power. DE10-nano board has no power off feature, so if you choose "Shutdown" it will end by black screen and it will be hard to tell if shutdown procedure is finished already or not. Every reboot from Linux will reboot to Menu core.
When running the Minimig and ao486 cores, once a ALSA compatible USB MIDI device is attached, two additional ‘UART Connection’ menu options (‘USBMIDI’ and ‘USBMIDI-38K’) will be available in addition to ‘None’, ‘PPP’ and ‘Console’.
‘USBMIDI’ - This option is used with the Amiga / Minimig core. This option sets the UART connection speed to 31250 baud which is the standard MIDI speed.
Many Amiga applications and most games don’t require any additional drivers for MIDI. Some “newer” applications may require the CAMD driver.
‘USBMIDI-38K’ - This option is used with the ao486 core. This option sets the UART Connection speed to 38400 baud. (The MIDI speed of 31250 baud is not a standard speed DOS PC UARTs were capable of doing)
While some sequencer applications and Microsoft Windows may support MIDI on the serial port, DOS games typically require a MPU-401 interface which ao486 unfortunately lacks. In lieu of hardware MPU-401 capability the SoftMPU TSR can be used with a good degree of success.
SoftMPU requires the QEMM memory manager be installed. For testing QEMM 8.03 was used. QEMM “stealth” option seems to be incompatible with ao486 so it is advisable to skip that part of the optimize process. It’s a good idea to run the QEMM optimize application again after installing SoftMPU (in the AUTOEXEC.BAT) to get as much of the lower 640K conventional RAM free as possible.
Although less common, some DOS games and applications require MPU-401 interrupts. This option can break compatibility with others software not requiring interrupts.
Starting SoftMPU without MPU-401 interrupts:
SOFTMPU.EXE /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:COM1Starting SoftMPU with MPU-401 interrupts:
SOFTMPU.EXE /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:COM1 The Rev.0 Roland MT-32 used in testing required the ‘DELAYSYSEX’ switch to prevent buffer overflow for certain games but made Sierra games upload sysex commands excessively slowly. This is not necessary for General MIDI modules and newer revision MT-32s.
SOFTMPU.EXE /MPU:330 /DELAYSYSEX /OUTPUT:COM1The 'midilink' daemon currently supports following switches / options:
TESTSER - this option sends a test message to the serial port once
the daemon is started.
TESTMIDI - this option sends a middle 'c' note to the MIDI device
once the daemon is started.
QUIET - this option suppresses MIDI debug output.
38400 - this option sets the serial speed to 38400 baud
(default is 31250 baud) - used with ao486 core.
The MiSTer menu can be customized in a number of ways.
eg You can add a cool font, or change the background image for the main menu.
Create a /media/fat/fonts folder on your SD card.
Next download the fonts from here - MiSTer Fonts
Copy the pf files downloaded from that url to the /media/fat/fonts folder
Next edit /media/fat/MiSTer.ini
Find the
font= line, and edit to use a new font. Be careful not to add a / before the font folder!
eg
If you want to use the C64 font - change the font line to
font=fonts/Computer_C64.pf
Find a suitable png or jpg file that you like
Copy your desired image to /media/fat/menu.jpg or /media/fat/menu.png (as appropriate)
reboot
Press F1 once rebooted into MiSTer to select your background.
There is also a way to have MiSTer choose from a selection of wallpaper images at random. On the root of your micro SD card (/media/fat), you can create the following folder:
wallpapers
Remove the menu.jpg/menu.png file (if present) from the root of the micro SD card. Populate the wallpapers folder with your desired images. Press F1 to cycle through the included default images until you see one of the custom wallpaper images you have added, then leave it on that image. On the next restart, a different image will be chosen at random.
You can also create the following additional folders:
wallpapers_alt_1
wallpapers_alt_2
wallpapers_alt_3
MiSTer supports up to three additional configuration profiles. The active MiSTer.ini or MiSTer_alt_*.ini file will determine from which folder the images are selected. If any of your configuration profiles use different resolutions, you can populate the corresponding wallpapers folders with only images of that profile's resolution. Each of these folders can have completely unique multiple images, or you can place just one image in each folder to have greater control over which background is used for certain configuration profiles.
You can make your favorite games accessible in the main menu or inside a folder. Read more in the Loading games via MGL files section.
Because some arcade boards can change games by just putting in new roms, it made sense to move the RBF files out of sight from the menu list, and browse the MRA files instead. These MRA files specify which RBF file to use, and which mame rom zip files to create on the fly into a rom to pass to the arcade core. They will create the old a.pacman.rom style rom on the fly from mame roms, either merged or non-merged.
/_Arcade/<game name>.mra /_Arcade/cores/<game rbf>.rbf /games/mame/<mame rom>.zip /games/hbmame/<hbmame rom>.zip
There are other locations for these files based on search paths.
<misterromdescription>
<name>Donkey Kong (US set 1)</name>
<mratimestamp>201911270000</mratimestamp>
<mameversion>0216</mameversion>
<setname>dkong</setname>
<year>1981</year>
<manufacturer>Nintendo of America</manufacturer>
<category>Maze / Monkeys</category>
<category>Platform</category>
<category>Platform / Mario Bros.</category>
<rbf>DonkeyKong</rbf>
<!-- switches element taken from "Pac-Man (Midway).mra"; for demonstration purposes only -->
<switches default="FF,FF,C9">
<dip bits="15" name="Cabinet" ids="Cocktail,Upright"/>
<dip bits="16,17" name="Coinage" ids="2c/1cr,1c/1cr,1c/2cr,Free Play" values="3,1,2,0"/>
<dip bits="18,19" name="Lives" ids="1,2,3,5"/>
<dip bits="20,21" name="Bonus Life After" ids="10000,15000,20000,None"/>
<dip bits="22" name="Difficulty" ids="Hard,Normal"/>
</switches>
<buttons names="Jump,Start 1P,Start 2P,Coin" default="A,Start,Select,R"/>
<!-- rom index 1 or any other index can pass additional information to a rom.
useful to say this rom is game A or game 1. Use it in case of multiple games for
the same RBF, ie: Dig Dug 2, Mappy -->
<rom index="1">
<part>0A</part>
</rom>
<!-- romstruct element taken from "Two Tigers.mra"; for demonstration purposes only -->
<romstruct>
ROM structure
00000 - 0BFFF 48k CPU1
0C000 - 0FFFF 16k CPU2
10000 - 13FFF 16k GFX1
14000 - 1BFFF 32k GFX2
</romstruct>
<!-- the nvram node is used to download and upload the nvram memory. When the user hits "Save Settings" in the OSD it triggers ioctl_upload. This isn't available in Donkey Kong because it didn't originally have NVRAM -->
<nvram index="4" size="1024"/>
<!-- rom index 0 is the standard rom. The zip will be added to the name inside the part, unless the
part has it's own zip. The md5 will be checked at the end. A file not found error is reported before an md5
error. -->
<rom index="0" zip="dkong.zip" md5="05fb1dd1ce6a786c538275d5776b1db1" type="merged|nonmerged|split">
<part crc="ba70b88b" name="c_5et_g.bin"/>
<!-- interleave element taken from "Crater Raider.mra"; for demonstration purposes only -->
<interleave output="32">
<part crc="579a8e36" name="crvid.a4" map="0001"/>
<part crc="2c2f5b29" name="crvid.a3" map="0001"/>
<part crc="5bf954e0" name="crvid.a6" map="0010"/>
<part crc="9bdec312" name="crvid.a5" map="0010"/>
<part crc="4b913498" name="crvid.a8" map="0100"/>
<part crc="9fa307d5" name="crvid.a7" map="0100"/>
<part crc="7a22d6bc" name="crvid.a10" map="1000"/>
<part crc="811f152d" name="crvid.a9" map="1000"/>
</interleave>
<!-- begin kill screen fix -->
<patch offset="0xf7d">
FE 04 38 02 3E 04 47 A7 17 A7 17 A7 17 80 80 C6
28
</patch>
<!-- end kill screen fix -->
<part crc="d6412358" name="c-2j.bpr"/>
<part crc="b869b8f5" zip="another.zip" name="v-5e.bpr"/>
<part crc="b869b8f5" name="v-5e.bpr" offset="1024" length="1024"/>
<part repeat="3328">00</part>
<part>
80 80 80 80 80 80 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 80 80 80
</part>
</rom>
<!-- If the first rom0 fails the md5 checksum, it will go ahead and try again if another entry is present.
Otherwise it will skip the additional entries.
-->
<rom index="0" zip="dkong.zip" md5="05fb1dd1ce6a786c538275d5776b1db1">
</rom>
</misterromdescription>
When creating a core you can pass additional data in using ioctl_index > 0.
// Retrieve Title No.
always @(posedge clk_sys) begin
if (ioctl_wr & (ioctl_index==1)) tno <= ioctl_dout[3:0];
end
Dip switch support in the latest version of MRA is used instead of the status bits. The DIP config str is listed in the core, and the core is responsible for reading the up to 64bits of dip data that is sent via ioctl_index 254.
reg [7:0] sw[8];
always @(posedge clk_sys) if (ioctl_wr && (ioctl_index==254) && !ioctl_addr[24:3]) sw[ioctl_addr[2:0]] <= ioctl_dout;Switches is the dip switch setting. The default are the default bytes. These are used so you can default the arcade into the proper factory settings. This is useful when the factory settings aren't all OFF/OFF/OFF. Note that in the default hexadecimal string, the leftmost byte refers to DIP bits 7:0, the next byte to 15:8 and so on. The most significant byte thus occupies the rightmost part of the string.
<switches default="FF,FF,C9">The value C9 will apply to DIP bits 23:16.
The dip tag let's you put in a dip switch entry. The bit number (starting at 0) is based on the way the core was written. Often MAME source code can be used to understand the bits. The numbering will depend on the rom used, the arcade core, and how things are laid out.
<dip bits="16,17" name="Coinage" ids="2c/1cr,1c/1cr,1c/2cr,Free Play" values="3,1,2,0"/>You can add your favorite games to the main menu (below the Arcade, Computer, Console etc. folders) - or - e.g. inside a folder for instance called 'Favorites'. It needs to be named _Favorites in the file system to show up in the menu.
Each of your favorite games must have an MGL file to be accessible in the menu.
At the time of writing (late February 2022) MGL is not supported on the Atari ST, Minimig, Archie and Sharp cores.
Examples:
<mistergamedescription>
<rbf>_console/snes</rbf>
<file delay="2" type="f" index="0" path="dummy.snes"/>
</mistergamedescription><mistergamedescription>
<rbf>_console/gameboy</rbf>
<file delay="1" type="f" index="1" path="dummy.gbc"/>
</mistergamedescription><mistergamedescription>
<rbf>_Computer/C64</rbf>
<file delay="1" type="f" index="1" path="dummy.prg"/>
</mistergamedescription><rbf>: path to the core and its name. If the core is outside the _console folder just its name.<file delay= amount of seconds to wait before load/mount (e.g. 1:turbografx16, neogeo, gba, gameboy, genesis, c64 and 2:snes).type= f: load file. s: mountindex= 0 for most console cores but 1 for e.g. the NeoGeo and Gameboy cores.path= path to game file inside the core's games folder. E.g. Puzzles/Dummy.binAll parameters must be present.
If a core pops up the OSD menu after loading the game or the game doesn't load try increasing the delay. It could also be due to wrong the index number, file type or game file path so check those too.
Until a complete list of cores and their index numbers and file types is ready you can test different index numbers and the file types listed above
... or look at the code for each core here on Github. E.g. for the TurboGraphics core look at the file TurboGrafx16.sv
Find a section that starts with parameter CONF_STR and in that section look for the ROM type you are loading/mounting.
In this case it will be "S0,CUECHD,Insert CD;"
Notice the S0, that is the "s" type with index of 0.
While the the MiSTer platform can be used with just the basic setup mentioned [here], its features can be greatly expanded with the use of additional expansions.
There are several options available and each has its own page. Here is a brief overview of each addon and a link to its page for further information.
When you've gotten your DE10-Nano FPGA board, you will probably want to have the expansions like the SDRAM or IO board. There are two ways to do that:
Check the sale threads:
If you are a bit technically gifted or just want to learn how to assemble PCBs by yourself, then head over to the "Assembly (DIY)" guides in the wiki sidebar and make your own boards! You can discuss and share your experiences with us here:
Actual SDRAM Board Revisions: XS v2.2 and XSDS v2.9
The MiSTer SDRAM Board, although optional, is considered an essential expansion board for the DE10-Nano FPGA board. The SDRAM is required by most cores of the MiSTer platform.
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical | Doesn't increase horizontal dimensions. Doesn't cover and allows better cooling for FPGA chip. Doesn't block Arduino GPIO - compatible with future or custom expansions. Easy to attach/detach. | Slightly less maximum working frequency. |
| Horizontal Outward | Doesn't cover and allows better cooling for FPGA chip. Doesn't block Arduino GPIO - compatible with future or custom expansions. Higher maximum working frequency. | Increases horizontal dimensions. |
| Horizontal Inward | Doesn't increase neither horizontal nor vertical dimensions. Higher maximum working frequency. | Blocks Arduino GPIOs - incompatible with future or custom expansions (PCB v3.2 solves this issue). Covers FPGA chip and makes cooling harder. Temperature condition is quite bad. Not compatible with I/O board v4 and newer. |
The SDRAM Board will be inserted into the GPIO 0 Header of the DE10-Nano Board. Three additional pins will be inserted into the Arduino header JP3
When Plugging in the SDRAM Board, make sure to support the DE10-Nano from beneath with your thumbs. Forcing in the SDRAM Board without support can bend the DE10-Nano board and permanently damage it.
Removing the SDRAM Board can be tricky for some GPIO connectors and just pulling won't do it sometimes. For very tight connectors, it is recommended to wiggle the SDRAM Board back and forth to remove the connectors slowly, bit-by-bit. Just pulling with force will often bend the GPIO header.
Here is a thorough list of Cores that may take advantage of or require an SDRAM Add-On Board in order to function. If a Core is not listed, it does not require nor take advantage of the SDRAM Add-On Board†:
| Name | SDRAM Speed (MHz) |
SDRAM Required? |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acorn Archimedes | 126 | Yes | |
| Acorn Electron | 96 | Yes | |
| Alice MC10 | 50 | Yes | |
| Amstrad CPC 6128 | 64 | Yes | |
| Amstrad PCW | 64 | Yes | |
| Apple Macintosh Plus | 65 | Yes | |
| Atari 800XL | 57 | No | Optional Required for memory config over 320KB or Cartridge use |
| Atari ST/STe | 96 | Yes | |
| Coleco Adam | 43 | Yes | |
| Color Computer 2 | 43 | Yes | |
| Color Computer 3 | 115 | Yes | |
| Commodore 64 | 63 | Yes | |
| Commodore 128 | 63 | Yes | |
| Commodore Amiga | 57 | Yes | |
| Electronika BK0011M | 96 | Yes | |
| IBM PC/XT | 50 | Yes | |
| MSX | 86 | Yes | |
| MSX1 | 86 | No | Optional Required for Slot 1 ROM usage and ROM sizes larger than 256KB |
| NEC PC8801 | 75 | Yes | |
| SAM Coupe | 96 | Yes | |
| Sharp X68000 | 80 | Yes | |
| Sinclair QL | 84 | Yes | |
| Spectravideo SV-328 | 43 | Yes | |
| TI-99/4A | 43 | Yes | |
| TSConf | 84 | Yes | |
| ZX Spectrum | 112 | Yes | |
| ZX Spectrum Next | 112 | Yes |
| Name | SDRAM Speed (MHz) |
SDRAM Required? |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 5200 | 57 | No | Optional Required for memory config over 320KB or Cartridge use |
| Atari 7800 | 57 | Yes | |
| Atari Lynx | 64 | Yes | |
| ColecoVision | 43 | Yes | |
| Gamate | 35 | Yes | |
| Game & Watch | 50 | Yes | |
| Game Boy, Game Boy Color | 67 | Yes | Also includes the Game Boy & Game Boy Color 2P |
| Game Boy Advance | 101 | No | Optional Using onboard DDR memory may result in less accurate gameplay If SDRAM is used, it requires up to the 64MB module, depending on the game |
| Game Boy Advance 2P | 101 | Yes | Requires up to the 128MB module, depending on the game |
| Neo Geo MVS/AES | 97 | Yes | Requires up to the 128MB module, depending on the game |
| Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) |
86 | Yes | |
| PlayStation (PSX) | 102 | Yes | |
| Pokémon Mini | 40 | Yes | |
| Sega 32X | 107 | Yes | |
| Sega CD/Mega-CD | 107 | Yes | |
| Sega Genesis/Mega Drive | 107 | No | Optional Using onboard DDR memory may result in less accurate gameplay |
| Sega Master System & Game Gear | 54 | Yes | |
| Super Game Boy | 86 | Yes | |
| Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) |
86 | Yes | |
| TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine | 86 | No | Optional Using onboard DDR memory may result in less accurate gameplay |
| Vectrex | 96 | Yes | |
| Watara SuperVision | 64 | Yes | |
| WonderSwan | 111 | Yes |
| Name | SDRAM Speed (MHz) |
SDRAM Required? |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asteroids Deluxe | 100 | Yes | |
| Bally Midway Astrocade | 57 | No | Optional Required for samples in Seawolf II and Gorf (with speech) |
| Bally Midway MCR-2 | 80 | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-3 | 80 | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-Mono | 80 | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-Scroll | 80 | Yes | |
| Cave | 96 | Yes | |
| Cosmic Guerilla | 43 | Yes | |
| Gauntlet | 93 | Yes | |
| Ikari Warriors | 107 | Yes | |
| Irem M62 | 72 | Yes | |
| Irem M72 | 96 | Yes | |
| Irem M92 | 120 | Yes | |
| Jackal | 98 | Yes | |
| Moon Patrol | 48 | Yes | |
| Raizing | 95 | Yes | |
| Scramble | 98 | Yes | |
| Sega System E | 54 | Yes | |
| Sonson | 72 | Yes | |
| Space Invaders | 80 | Yes | |
| Subs | 48 | Yes | |
| Tecmo | 96 | Yes | |
| Tropical Angel | 74 | Yes | |
| Universal Cosmic Games |
43 | Yes | |
| VBall | 96 | Yes | |
| Xain'd Sleena | 96 | Yes | |
| Zaxxon | 48 | Yes |
| Name | SDRAM Speed (MHz) |
SDRAM Required? |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boot Menu | 100 | No | Does not require the SDRAM board, but will use it if found It will clear the entire SDRAM and DDR memory while running |
| SDRAM Board Test | 70-167 | Yes |
Note: SDRAM Speed is rounded to the nearest whole number.
†New cores may have been added after the latest publish date of this article. Be sure to take note of the publish date of the core and this article. Always assume new cores require the SDRAM Add-On Board, unless this article is updated after the publish date of the core.
Current Board Revision: 6.1 and digital IO 1.2
The MiSTer IO Board is an optional expansion. It adds the following features to the MiSTer Platform:
Some cores require low-level SD card access. The primary SD card cannot provide low-level access due to an incompatible layout. It is also locked by Linux system from direct access. Thus, I/O board v5.x provides the secondary SD card which is directly connected to FPGA. Linux system doesn't see this card. The layout of the secondary SD card fully depends on core requirements. Usually, it's simple FAT16 format, but some cores may require custom formatting.
Secondary SD card is a simple direct connection between SD connector and DE10-nano GPIOs. It's possible to solder by yourself if whole I/O Board is not required (or older I/O Board is used). Check the schematic if you want to connect it by yourself.
Following cores support (but not require, see VHD section) the secondary SD card:
Following cores require the secondary SD card:
The cores where secondary SD card is optional require VHD image file to replace the SD card in order to work. VHD image is a simple dump of SD card. You can prepare a special SD card for specific core and then make a full backup using a utility such as Win32 Disk Imager. You even can create VHD file without SD card at all. In this case, you can create a smaller VHD file with suitable size in such application as WinImage - save it into IMA format and then rename to VHD.
You can make the image which will be mounted automatically at the start of the core. So, it will look like you have SD card connected at the start. For automatic mounting, you need to name the VHD as CoreID.VHD and place together with RBF file or create the folder CoreID and put BOOT.VHD image in that folder. The second option is convenient if you have several VHD files for the core, while the first option is more convenient if only a single file is used. CoreID is the name you see in core's OSD. For example, for Atari 800 core, the auto mounted name will be Atari800.vhd
VHD file has priority over a real secondary SD card if mounted. Unmount the VHD (press BACKSPACE while choosing VHD file in OSD) in order to use the Secondary SD card.
Since autumn of 2019 there is a method for outputting analog video called Direct Video that doesn't require you to install the IO Board in your MiSTer. This new method offers same minimal latency to the VGA port from the IO Board and even better color depth in some cores. To enjoy it, you just need to activate the feature in your mister.ini file and attach a DAC to your HDMI port.
You may use an HDMI-to-VGA converter similar to this one.
NOTE: as of 2021/06/27 it seems very hard to find devices which are compatible with VGA to SCART adapters. Devices which work with VGA are still easy to find. More info here: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/issues/410
Direct Video is compatible with most current cores and will be supported in all future cores coming to MiSTer.
RGBs, RGsB and YPbPr are supported, although YPbPr has less display compatibility in Direct Video mode compared to YPbPr from the IO Board.
Note that output resolution and format can vary from core to core. See analog video output compatibility for more information.
First you need a simple DAC with VGA output. Those based on the chip AG6200/AG6201 (like the one in the picture) are proven to work fine and are fairly inexpensive and easy to find. Also many of them output analog audio too. The only thing we recommend is to not hotplug them or pull them out from your MiSTer while it is still ON, since you might damage your HDMI port in the process.
Then you need to add the following line to your mister.ini file:
direct_video=1
This activates the Direct Video feature when the system starts. Once it's enabled, it allows your HDMI port to output the raw and unprocessed digital audio/video signal from the loaded core, which is consumed by your DAC. MiSTer will not work with your HD TV or monitor while this mode is enabled, since they require a standard HDMI signal to work, and the zero-lag Direct Video signal IS NOT standard HDMI.
The resulting analog video signal from your DAC should be compatible with standard CRTs if the core loaded supports standard CRT refresh frequencies (see analog video compatibility for more details). But there is still a bit of additional configuration you need to do depending on which kind of analog video signal you want to use.
For analog RGB output, you'll want to enable composite sync on the HSync signal in your mister.ini (composite_sync=1). After that, you are good to plug in an RGB-compatible VGA-SCART cable to your TV.
For optimal results, Retro Access sells SCART and BNC cables specifically for use with MiSTer.
DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that many VGA DACs may output a sync signal at 3 volts or more on pin 13 (HSYNC/CSYNC) even when being used in Direct Video mode! You will need a 470 ohm resistor on the corresponding SCART sync pin to attenuate this signal to levels that are safe for all video equipment. A variety of professional video equipment can have wide tolerances for higher voltage sync signals but other devices, especially external scalers like the OSSC or XRGB Mini Framemeister, can be worn out and reduced to a non-working state by repeated use with higher-voltage sync signals. Unless you are 100% certain your equipment can tolerate higher voltage signals, it is strongly recommended that you either purchase a cable that has a 470 ohm resistor inline or add one yourself. Retro Access MiSTer SCART cables, for example, come with a resistor inline by default.
YPbPr - also known as Component Video - is available in Direct Video mode but has limited compatibility. This is due to limitations of HDMI-to-VGA DACs, which were not meant to produce signals in the YPbPr color space in the first place, resulting in signals that are slightly out-of-spec. It is possible that your display will accept the Direct Video YPbPr signal with no issue, but it may also appear bright pink due to the way many displays process such signals. For higher YPbPr compatibility you may prefer RGB mode with an external RGB-to-YPbPr transcoder instead, or YPbPr via the IO Board.
To use YPbPr in Direct Video mode, you'll need to enable composite_sync and ypbpr in your mister.ini file.
You'll also need to add a sync-on-green circuit on your VGA connection. Sync-on-green circuits can be very simple; you just need a diode (1N4148) and a 330ohm resistor (any values between 270ohm and 390ohm are advised, too high and the sync signal is too weak, too low and it's too strong).
Connection: from HSync -> anode of diode, cathode of diode -> resistor, resistor to Green signal.
This is a handy way to use those modern monitors that have VGA input but are typically not compatible with 15KHz signals, and require 31KHz analog video. In case you need it, you just have to set forced_scandoubler=1 in your mister.ini to turn a 15KHz signal into a 31Khz one (See which cores output 15KHz video here).
Direct Video produces a 24bit color signal, which is superior to the 18bit signal coming from the IO Board. However, few cores use 24bit color, so the improved color depth may not make much of an impact depending on the cores you run.
Also, most cheap DACs, like the ones based on the chip AG6200, don't produce Full Range RGB. They instead produce Limited Range RGB (16-235) or much more commonly a nonspec Limited Range variant (16-255). In order to compensate for this, you may want to configure the hdmi_limited option in your mister.ini to adjust the signal being sent to your DAC.
hdmi_limited=0.hdmi_limited=1.hdmi_limited=2.The VGA-style HD DB15 port on the IO board is intended for analog video output and does not explicitly output VGA or any one standard.
This page is titled to reflect this, as individual cores and configuration can vary. The default configuration is to output non-scaled video in an RGBHV mode. MiSTer can be configured to enable scaling, output RGBs, RGsB or component as well over this port. Native resolutions here denote video signals generated by the core by default and may not match original hardware. Display output frequencies and resolutions tend to change over a core's development. Some cores output multiple resolutions and formats, which may require a more general classification.
The primary display output of the DE10 nano is HDMI, so HDMI is often the initial target for video output in most cores.
Consoles
| Core | Version | Native Resolution | Frequency (Horizontal, Vertical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari2600 | 20181214 | 240p | 15.40kHz, 59.4Hz | A startup rom must be placed in the core |
| Astrocade | 20181224 | 240p | 15.70kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| Atari5200 | 20180819 | 240p | 15.62kHz, 59.9hz | |
| Colecovision | 20181130 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.7Hz | |
| Gameboy | 20200331 | 240p | 15.77kHz, 59.7Hz | Enable "Stabilize video" to prevent sync issues on blank screens |
| GBA | 20200409 | 240p | 15.77kHz, 59.7Hz | |
| Genesis | 20200502 | 240p | 15.72kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| NeoGeo | 20200325 | 240p | 15.63kHz, 59.2Hz | |
| NES | 20200308 | 240p | 15.75kHz, 60.1Hz | |
| Odyssey2 | 20181221 | 240p | 15.61kHz, 60.1Hz | |
| SMS | 20200309 | 240p | 15.7kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| SNES | 20200306 | 240p | 15.75kHz, 60.1Hz | |
| TurboGrafx16 (PC Engine) | 20181231 | 240p | 15.56kHz, 59.7Hz | |
| Vectrex | 20180616 | VGA | 44.96kHz, 60.0Hz |
Computers
| Core | Version | Native Resolution | Frequency (Horizontal, Vertical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acorn Archimedes | 20180519 | 240p | 16.22kHz, 52.2Hz | |
| Altair 8800 | 20181113 | VGA | 45.03kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| Amiga | 20181216 | 240p | 15.68kHz, 50.4Hz | |
| Amstrad CPC 6128 | 2018084 | 240p | 15.63kHz, 50.25Hz | boot rom needed |
| 486 | 20181215 | VGA | 44.95kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| Apogee | 20180305 | 240p | 15.44kHz, 50.0Hz | |
| Apple II+ | 20180308 | VGA | 30.62kHz, 58.5Hz | |
| Apple Macintosh Plus | 20180305 | Mac | 22.06kHz, 60.1Hz | |
| Aquarius | 20180429 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.6Hz | |
| Atari 800 | 20180812 | 240p | 15.63kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| Atari ST | 1 | VGA | 31.13kHz, 49.9Hz | |
| BBC Micro | 20180521 | ? | 62.5kHz, 62.5kHz | |
| BK0011M | 20180901 | 240p | 15.82kHz, 48.82Hz | |
| Commodore 64 | 20180831 | 240p | 15.31kHz, 58.4Hz | |
| Commodore 16 | 20180902 | 240p | 15.50kHz, 49.8Hz | |
| Commodore PET | 20180305 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.6Hz | |
| Commodore VIC-20 | 20180926 | 240p | 15.54kHz, 59.8Hz | |
| PDP-1 | 20190101 | 1280x1024 | 63.80kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| MSX | 20180520 | 240p | 15.62kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| MultiComp | 20180629 | VGA | 30.99kHz, 59.6Hz | |
| Sharp MZ Series | 20180927 | 240p | 15.01kHz, 58.0Hz | no HDMI output |
| Sinclair QL | 20180305 | 240p | 15.74kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Specialist/MX | 20180305 | yes | 15.61kHz.50.0Hz | |
| Tandy CoCo3 | 091918a | VGA | 31.28kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| TI-99/4A | 20180527 | 240p | 15.38kHz, 59.88Hz | A startup rom must be placed in the core |
| TSConf | 20180901 | 240p | 15.51kHz, 50.0Hz | |
| Vector 06C | 20180304 | 240p | 15.51kHz, 50.0Hz | |
| X68000 | 20171103 | NA | NA | |
| ZX Spectrum | 20181231 | 240p | 15.51kHz, 48.8Hz | |
| ZX81 | 20180903 | 240p | 15.62kHz, 59.9Hz |
Arcade
| Core | Version | Native Resolution | Frequency (Horizontal, Vertical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 20180313 | VGA | 37.77kHz, 60.3Hz | TATE, image squished over HDMI |
| Alibaba | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Amidar | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| AzurianAttack | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Bagman | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| BlackHole | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| BombJack | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Bubbles | 20181217 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| BurgerTime | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| BurningRubber | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Catacomb | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Colony7 | 20181218 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| ComputerSpace | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | menu not available over VGA |
| CosmicAvenger | 20180313 | 240p | 15.89kHz, 61.1Hz | |
| CrazyClimber | 20180607 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| CrazyKong | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| CrushRoller | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Defender | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| DonkeyKong | 20180418 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Dorodon | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| DreamShopper | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Eeekk | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Eyes | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Frogger | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Galaga | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Galaxian | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| GalaxyWars | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Gorkans | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Invaders | 20181010 | VGA | 31.20kHz, 59.9Hz | |
| Joust | 20181216 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| LadyBug | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| LizardWizard | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| LodeRunner | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| LunarRescue | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Mayday | 20181218 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| MoonCresta | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 60.0Hz | |
| MoonPatrol | 20180315 | 240p | 15.51kHz, 50.0Hz | |
| MrDoNightmare | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| MrTNT | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| MsPacman | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Omega | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Orbitron | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Pacman | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| PacmanClub | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| PacmanPlus | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| PacmanicMiner | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Pengo | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Phoenix | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Pisces | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Ponpoko | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Pooyan | 20180313 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Robotron | 20181215 | 240p | 15.49kHz, 59.1Hz | |
| Scramble | 20180929 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Sinistar | 20181218 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| SnapJack | 20180315 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Space Attack II | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Space Invaders | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Space Invaders Part II | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Space Laser | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| Splat | 20181217 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Stargate | 20181216 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Super Earth Invasion | 20171115 | VGA | 37.8kHz, 60.3Hz | |
| SuperGlob | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| TheEnd | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| TimePilot | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| VanVanCar | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| WarOfTheBugs | 20180103 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Woodpecker | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| Xevious | 20180313 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz | |
| ZigZag | 20181219 | 240p | 15.86kHz, 60.6Hz |
TO-DO:
Declare specific resolution
Specify if PAL/NTSC alternate is available
Note is core expecting horizontal or vertical orientation
MiSTer FPGA project, while mainly focused on HDMI output, is at the moment also the best all-in-one emulation solution for displaying old consoles and microcomputers on CRT sets. Most of MiSTer's cores should output image representing the original sources 1:1 natively and with few adjustments necessary.
The whole subject is quite vast though, seeing as CRT hardware can be quite varied and cause compatibility issues. Also, different cores might output the signal in different ways, or still have some bugs present. This wiki is an attempt to consolidate the current knowledge regarding this topic and present it in a concise manner, while also serving as a first-stop resource for solving assorted problems.
As of March 2022 this guide is still considered work-in-progress, seeing we've only just started writing it, and MiSTer itself is constantly evolving - cores are being improved and new solutions appear. If you spot any mistakes and/or can contribute something new you are welcome to edit this wiki. Please try to let us know on the forums or Discord though, so we can cross-check the new information and learn about it too.
Some disclaimers:
-all (ok, 99.73%) of the settings/solutions here have been tested and proven working, but they still might not work on your setup. There are many quirky situations possible in the CRT world.
-Before buying something (cable, adapter, etc) make sure you read sellers' product description and double check it is applicable in your particular scenario.
1. CONNECTING TO RGB / COMPONENT / VGA capable sets
2. CONNECTING TO COMPOSITE / S-VIDEO capable sets
3. MISTER INI SETTINGS
4. CORE OSD SETTINGS
5. CUSTOM VIDEO MODES
6. F.A.Q.
7. REMAINING CORE PROBLEMS
You can connect MiSTer to a CRT set using two methods: either by installing the analogue I/O board and using its VGA output or by connecting an HDMI-to-VGA DAC dongle directly to DE10 Nano's HDMI socket. Both of these methods produce nearly identical image which in most cases should match the output of the original hardware 1:1. Apart from that, they also have their specific pros & cons:
Analogue I/O board
Direct Video
Once you have acquired either an I/O board or a DV dongle, you'll need to connect it to your TV via a cable and also change some settings in the mister.ini file.
for consumer TVs (15kHz) with RGB SCART (via both I/O board & Direct Video)
Apart from I/O board or Direct Video dongle you'll also need a special cable. You can either make one [LINK] or buy it online. It's recommended to get a cable with a 470 ohm resistor on the Composite Sync line (best ask the seller if it already has one)
Here are some possible sources: Misteraddons (US), Retro Access (UK), Ultimatemister (PT), Wolfsoft (DE), Antoniovillena (ES). You can also get a MiST cable, it works in general but might be lacking the 470 Ohm resistor and is generally "not guaranteed": Lotharek (PL), Amigastore (EU) Other option is to use a VGA-SCART converter, plus normal SCART/VGA cables. Possible sources: Antoniovillena (ES), Arcadeforge (DE), Retro Upgrades (UK)
If you are connecting to a consumer Trinitron you might also need to add an extra resistor/potentiometer to fix odd or not lively enough colours forum link
As of May 2022 the Ultimatemister shop sells all-in-one Direct Video cables (HDMI to SCART) which eliminate the need for a Direct Video adapter.
consumer TVs (15kHz) with YPbPr component (via I/O board)
A standard VGA to Component cable should be enough
consumer TVs (15kHz) with YPbPr component (via Direct Video)
This will require cable modifications, to add Sync on Green (SoG). Please read more here: Wiki / forum
VGA monitors (31Khz) A standard VGA – VGA cable should be enough.
PVM/BVM monitors (via I/O board)
A standard VGA to BNC cable (3xRGB + HSync) cable should be ok
PVM/BVM monitors (via Direct Video)
A standard VGA to BNC cable (3xRGB + HSync) cable should be ok
Most of the settings' changes are done in mister.ini, located in the “media/fat/” directory of your SD card. When troubleshooting it is advised to use a new mister.ini from this link. All .ini settings in this section assume you are using this default file.
For I/O BOARD
consumer TVs (15kHz) with RGB SCARTcomposite_sync=1
consumer TVs (15kHz) with Componentypbpr=1
Also you might need to flip the SoG switch on the I/O board
VGA monitors (31khz)forced_scandoubler=1
For DIRECT VIDEO
consumer TVs (15kHz) with RGB SCARTdirect_video=1composite_sync=1
consumer TVs (15kHz) with Componentdirect_video=1composite_sync=1ypbpr=1
VGA monitors (31khz)direct_video=1forced_scandoubler=1
for PVM/BVM monitorsdirect_video=1composite_sync=1
One method of obtaining Composite or S-Video on a capable CRT TV set is by using a special adapter. At the moment these are available for sale from Antoniovillena and Ultimatemister (PT)
There's also an open-source design which you can DIY: Github / forum link.
These adapters have been reported to work well in S-Video mode, but Composite has problems with artifacting.
Another alternative is the Axunworks converter. It requires using a VGA-to-BNC cable with BNC-to-RCA adapters and most likely also suffers from artifacting in Composite (forum thread). Some other options reported to work well are converters from seller "wakabavideo" and "Keene Scart to S-Video" brand on ebay.
These requirements are for cores that natively output s-video / composite directly from the core. The current cores generate two signals that use the existing RGB pins, where the luma (Brightness) uses the green output and the chroma (Color) uses the red output.
Connection Requirements - S-Video
Connection Requirements - Composite
Note 1: Its recommended that you use a 0.47nF Capacitor in series with the Chroma signal. This will reduce the output voltage of your composite signal.
Note 2: If using composite, it is recommended to use a breakout board with a luma trap that will filter out frequencies that confuse the tv from thinking brightness changes are color. (E.g Color Bleed / Rainbowing)
Configuration Requirements
INI Settingsvga_scaler=0
Configuration Requirements
INI SettingsYPbPr = 0Direct_video = 1Composite sync = 1vga_scaler=0
More info & updates: Twitter / Github / forum
Listed here are some other mister.ini settings which might be useful when dealing with CRTs. Mister.ini can be found in the "media/fat/"directory of your SD card. Please refer to the linked Wiki pages for their parameters and more details.
[core name] – eg [ao486]
Useful for setting core-specific variables. Any settings below these tags will ignore the ones under the main [mister] tag. Not needed in most cases. Put at the end of mister.ini
hdmi_limited - used for Direct Video, when there's a possibility that your adapter might have a limited colour range.
vsync_adjust,vga_scaler, vscale_mode, video_mode - these settings are ignored by the native analog output, and used only when the scaler is active. See Custom Video Modes
This section needs expanding.
MiSTer's OSD Menu (F12 from keyboard or user-defined key on gamepad) contains two types of video settings: core specific and global. The former (if available) are in the "core_name" tab, the latter are under "Video Processing" in the "System" tab (press Right after evoking the Menu).
The core-specific Video settings can vary from platform to platform and sometimes have effect on CRT use. There are also some settings which are the same across most of the cores, but they seldom affect the analogue output (eg Vertical Crop). The following ones are worth noting:Aspect ratio,Scale - useful when using custom modelines, sometimes necessary to achieve full screen and/or proper aspect ratioScandoubler Fx - beware of accidentially setting it "on" when using 15kHz CRTs. This will cause the image to go out of sync and might seem as if something is "broken".
The global Video settings from Video Processing are mostly dedicated to HDMI users, dealing with various image filters. CRT users can however also try and apply the Gamma Correction filters here.
Using custom modelines carries a small risk of damaging your set. Most CRT TVs and monitors, especially the newer ones, should be fine with out-of-spec signals, but the possibility of something going wrong remains, so use them at your own risk.
While most of MiSTer's cores work very well with CRTs natively, and display the same image as original hardware, there are some cases when using custom modelines might be beneficial. For example, displaying 31kHz cores on 15kHz sets, or slightly adjusting output of cores such as NeoGeo.
These modelines have to be calculated individually and entered in mister.ini after a core-specific tag (eg [ao486]) using video_mode setting.
Please note that when using them, you might also need to correct some of the cores' video-related OSD settings. Usually it's Aspect Ratio and/or Scaling that needs adjusting. Also, they won't work with Direct Video, for that you'd need to add a device/mod with HV Sync combiner, like one of the VGA2SCART adapters mentioned above.
For more information on how to create custom modelines please refer to Thorr's CRT modeline creation guide, as well as Shogun's forum thread.
Below are modelines which have been tested and confirmed to be working. That does not mean that they necessarily will work on your set though. If a modeline does not work you can try another one, if there are available alternatives, and if not, try to make one yourself or adjust the existing ones by using the calculators. You can also experiment with vsync_adjust in such cases.
In case when an example contains multiple video_modes, you can try different ones by removing/adding ";" from the front of the line. Only one video_mode can be active at a time, so the ";" is used to disable the unwanted ones (this can be applied to all the settings in the mister.ini)
Settings provided here assume that you have already applied the necessary ones from the initial paragraphs and that you are able to display most of the cores correctly. Please also note that when using them, you might also need to correct some of the cores' video-related OSD settings. Usually it's Aspect Ratio and/or Scaling that needs adjusting.
This core natively outputs 31kHz (although not without problems) and so is meant to be used on VGA monitors, but it's possible to display it on consumer sets too, using modelines. There will be some black borders, and the MSDOS text only just about readable, but the 320x200 games should be scaled perfectly.
-for 15kHz sets[ao486]direct_video=0vscale_border=20vscale_mode=0;video_mode=1440,40,136,176,240,3,10,6,27000
-for 15kHz sets - another example. If you have the previous one in your config, remember to disable it using ";".[ao486]direct_video=0vga_scaler=1vsync_adjust=1vscale_mode=1 ; Set this to 0 if you want to fill the screen but lose 1 to 1 pixel mapping on 320x200 games;video_mode=1280,170,140,244,240,2,0,22,29020;video_mode=1280,138,140,216,240,2,0,22,28070video_mode=1280,120,140,202,240,2,0,22,27565; Wider
More modelines and discussion are in this thread
-for 31kHz VGA monitors - As of March 2022 there's a new method of dealing with mode changing It can be used for all the cores, but so far has the biggest application in ao486, allowing for automatic resolution switching between DOS and a variety of games with different parameters. You can also choose to apply the CGA/EGA era "look" with pronounced scanlines.
[ao486]; Set it to "Variable" in the video settings in the menu of the corevideo_mode=1600,64,192,304,1200,1,3,46,162000; This is the "catch-all" resolution that will be used if an undefined video mode is detected. This example may be too high of a resolution for your monitor. You can use video_mode=1 instead for example.direct_video=0 ; use the scalervsync_adjust=2 ; minimal lagvscale_mode=1 ; integer scalingvideo_info=3 ; show resolution information for X secondshdmi_limited=2 ; 1 - use limited (16..235) color range over HDMI ; 2 - use limited (16..255) color range over HDMI, for VGA converters.
[video=320x200@70.1];video_mode=320,24,49,38,200,2,2,20,13535,0,1 ; 320x200@140.2Hz@31.4kHz DOS CGA/EGA/Adventure games with scanlinesvideo_mode=640,7,108,30,400,13,2,34,24708,0,1 ; 640x400@70.1Hz@31.48kHz VGA era games including 320x200, 320x400, 640x400 @70.1Hz[video=320x400@70.1]video_mode=640,7,108,30,400,13,2,34,24708,0,1 ; 640x400@70.1Hz@31.48kHz VGA Games including 320x200, 320x400, 640x400 @70.1Hz[video=720x400@70.1]video_mode=720,15,108,46,400,13,2,34,27983,0,1 ; 720x400@70.1Hz@31.48kHz DOS Text;experimental modes[video=320x199@59.7]video_mode=640,25,130,75,398,50,29,50,27370,0,1 ; 640x398@59.7Hz@31.46kHz Jazz Jackrabbit[video=320x240@59.7]video_mode=640,40,96,64,480,14,2,31,26430,0,1 ; 640x480@59.7Hz Epic Pinball (temp modeline, still under development)[video=640x480@59.7]video_mode=640,40,96,64,480,14,2,31,26430,0,1 ; 640x480@59.7Hz (temp modeline, still under development)
-for 15kHz sets - these modelines can help with horizontal scaling[NeoGeo]direct_video=0vga_scaler=1;video_mode=320,7,28,29,224,16,8,16,6000video_mode=320,21,29,44,224,13,14,13,6400
This early Japanese computer was able to output 15kHz (tbc) but the core at the moment only outputs 31kHz. Using these modelines you should also experiment with V-modes in the core's OSD options.
-for 15kHz sets[PC8801]direct_video=0vga_scaler=1vsync_adjust=2vscale_mode=3video_mode=1280,159,140,248,240,11,0,19,29568 ; Good for 320x200 games, not 320x240;video_mode=1280,173,140,266,240,11,0,19,30086 ; slightly bigger borders on left and right
This modeline helps to center the image.
-for 15kHz sets[RX78]direct_video=0vga_scaler=1video_mode=640,6,56,66,224,14,8,18,12000
X68000 is one of the most complex machines when it comes to output, sporting three different frequencies and a host of resolutions. MiSTer's core outputs 31kHz, it is however possible to display at least some games with 1:1 scaling (and maybe a little overscan) on 15kHz sets. Please check this thread for more modelines and explanations.
-for 15 kHz sets[X68000]vga_scaler=1vsync_adjust=1vscale_mode=0vscale_border=0video_mode=1024,116,72,160,256,1,1,3,20400
At the moment MiSTer's text displayed while updating is cut off a bit - this modeline fixes it.
-for 15kHz sets[Menu]direct_video=0vga_scaler=1vsync_adjust=1vscale_mode=1video_mode=640,54,56,106,224,16,0,28,13764
This section is being continuously expanded and contains various CRT-related questions, solutions, hacks, etc...
Some consumer Sony Trinitron TV's (perhaps also studio monitors) might struggle with more than 300mV of the sync level and need a resistor on the sync line. Using a 1k resistor (or 2k potentiometer for more flexibility) should solve this problem.
Using modelines it is possible to display 240p content in 120Hz on VGA monitors. This produces a brighter image with more defined scanlines. The downsides are black bars and blurry motion.
Forum thread: link
Mister.ini settings:
video_mode=2048,40,442,200,240,3,10,8,85909vga_scaler=1vscale_mode=1vsync_adjust=0
There's a page on this wiki regarding this subject, but at the moment (April 2022) it's quite outdated. User NML32 is maintaining an external doc though. It's quite extensive and up to date.
Official cores listed in this section should be able in theory to output 15 kHz signal, but at the moment (04-2022) are either unable to do so or have some problems. This will hopefully change in the future.
Some cores (ao486, Minimig) use clock, so MiSTer provides the real time for such cores. MiSTer can take the time from internet if active connection is present.
This board is pretty simple and provide real time offline. It supports 2 types of battery holders and several types of RTC ICs. It's plugged into LTC connector.
To get real time saved, simply connect MiSTer to internet and let it run for around 15 minutes. or from the console:
By default the time zone is UTC(GMT). If you want to get the time of your zone, you need to do following:
From the console you can also force the hardware clock to update and read the time from it.
If you have internet connection or RTC board installed, these cores will show correct time and date and/or be utilised by the core.
This is an optional add-on usb hub pcb made for convenient USB device connections. With this board the MiSTer has an extra seven USB ports that fit snugly under the existing chassis.
Order USB Bridge board PCB on PCBWay
The Hub is based on the FE2.1 chip, which requires only a few external components. It uses 3 sides for USB sockets. Since the input Micro-USB connector has a flexible wired connection to the board, the user can mount it in either direction to choose the side providing the USB connections.
The Hub add-on board allows you to use power from Micro-USB or external power. External power is preferred as this will prevent USB over-current triggering. In case external power is used, a small cut point (shown on picture) should be cut (or you can leave the Micro-USB +5V wire unsoldered)!
The following are cores that are not officially released for MiSTer but do have ADC support:
ADCTest will help visualize and set volume levels and verify tape quality (and operation of the ADC itself).
A custom case for your MiSTer can be 3D printed using these files from Thingiverse. There are separate models which you can use depending on the add-ons that you have.
Universal Case for the MiSTer to now support the I/O-Board 5.2 and all SDRAM configurations
MiSTer Sidecar USB case add-on usable with MiSTer USB Hub v1.1 daughter board Sidecar will with MiSTer - Case Universal v5.2 and v1.2
MiSTer XS Case v1 - v5.2 XS for SDRAM XS - extra slim - v1.1
MiSTer XS Case v2 - v5.2 XS for SDRAM XS - extra slim - v1.1 (the case is 4 mm higher than v1)
Case with fan holder which fits vertical and horizontal SDRAM boards (Case Universal)
Slimmed down case that only fits vertical SDRAM board
MiSTer - Case v1.0 Updated
Original case that only fits horizontal SDRAM board
3D model (STEP 3D) for case development: MiSTer with I/O Board v5.2 and SDRAM XS v1.1
This is an attempt to put MiSTer into Pi-Top v1 (original) case and make a MiSTer notebook.
v1 case is discontinued by manufacturer. It just disappeared from the site. This case is still available from distributors such as RS-Online, Sparkfun, but won't last long. So, hurry up if you want to put MiSTer into this case! You may buy it even if you are not sure. You still can use this case for RPi/TB in case if you will change your mind.
Case is pretty expensive but the only solution on the market. High price of the case doesn't mean good quality, alas. Plastic used on the case is so-so. Connections between plastic details aren't good either. Be careful as some parts are easy to brake (although pi-top site is full of pictures with children). Overall it looks like cheap case, but as has been said, there is no other option on the market to make your own notebook.
You can think about adaptation of some (old) notebook case. But it will be more hard and possibly even more expensive. Notebook displays usually have either LVDS or eDP interface while Pi-Top has HDMI. So you will need to find/make a conversion board for notebook display which is not always possible. Keyboard and touchpad in traditional notebook have "naked" interfaces providing low-level connection while Pi-Top provides USB connection for both keyboard and touchpad. So you will need to make another conversion board for keyboard and touchpad on traditional notebook. Battery management on traditional notebook is on main board, so another board is required while Pi-Top provides integrated HUB board to manage the battery and display power control. So, adaptation of traditional notebook will require pretty large board to convert internal interfaces to those compatible with MiSTer(DE10-nano). Different notebooks have different internals, so it's impossible to make a one board for all notebook cases. And usually even in old thick notebooks there is no much space to fit DE10-nano - especially in height dimension.
So, after judge all these difficulties, the only viable option is Pi-Top case.
This project is targeted to v1 (called as original on Pi-Top site) case only. This version has more space inside and has no specific to RPi holes and places. So, we have pretty relaxed placement of DE10-nano inside. Semi-transparent cover gives good view to all DE10-nano LEDs and doesn't require to drill the holes. v1 uses railed holes to fix the boards, while v2 case uses magnet rails not suitable for this project.
Probably it's possible to use v2 case as well, but it will require completely different add-on boards.
v2 is available only in childish acid green color which is a main distraction point.
It delivers 16.5V and very dangerous for DE10-nano. There is no usage of 16.5V so it's better to remove this pin. Connector on PiTopHUB isn't shrouded and it's very easy to shift it while connecting and fry everything!While developing the boards for Pi-Top i found it's easy to make MCU on PiTopHUB to stick in non-responsible state. And since MCU is always powered (even in power off state) power cycle isn't enough. There are 2 ways to reset the MCU.
New releases of Linux, MiSTer binary and Cores are required. Releases after March 02 2018 will be compatible with Pi-Top. Display of Pi-Top supports only one resolution - 1920x1080. So every core will require to support this resolution.
Although Pi-Top display supports only single resolution, it accepts any (reasonable) pixel clock and refresh rate. So, with this display and automatic VSync adjust option video may have original retro system refresh rate. All scrollers will be very smooth.
Gerber and PDF files for all boards can be found here
This board has all important parts such as memory, both SD cards and Audio.
Both SDRAM (32MB) and SRAM (2MB) are on this board, although SRAM is not supported by any core. There are no plans to use SRAM in foreseen future, so it's advised not to solder SRAM and save the cost.
Board has the same secondary SD card as on original MiSTer board. Another SD card is original DE10-nano card through micro-SD extender providing convenient access to card as original is in hard to reach place.
Audio amplifiers may be soldered directly on board by components, or using Adafruit audio breakout boards by soldering connectors points. MAX98357A has very tiny pads - if you are not sure in your soldering capability, use the breakout boards. The price is about the same as set of components. Although board has places for audio amplifier, it's advised not to solder it. Audio amplifiers gives up to 3.2W per channel and may draw up to 1.2A from 5V source. Due to audio nature, the draw will not be constant and will hammer the DE10-nano power circuit. So, it's advised to solder audio amplifiers on separate Audio board. By default 5V power of audio is connected to 5V of DE10-nano. There is an option to use external 5V supply for audio by cutting tiny cut point near P6 connector and connect external 5V (take from Audio board) source to unload internal DE10-nano power circuit.
Due to height limit in Pi-Top case, this board is mounted at some angle. P1 uses standard profile connector while P2 uses high profile connector (same as on standard MiSTer I/O Board). Thus one side of Arduino connector will slightly protrude from this board's cutout while other side will be covered by the board. You need to cut pins on both connectors at the board level before soldering to make sure it won't prevent closing of sliding cover. (pictures are coming) P4(primary card extender) and I2S_FPGA (if you use audio board) are better to be soldered as SMD using exposed pads on the bottom of the board for the same reason.(pictures are coming)
Recommended board thickness is 1.2mm. This board thickness is included to total height of the whole construction.
Using sockets for speakers:
Directly wired:
Audio amplifiers can be soldered directly on board by components, or using Adafruit audio breakout boards by soldering connectors points. MAX98357A has very tiny pads - if you are not sure in your soldering capability, use the breakout boards. The price is about the same as set of components.
Set on-board DE10-nano switches according to picture to enable I2S output to audio board:
Besides audio amplifiers, the boards are providing I2C and SPI connections to DE10-nano (through RTC board). I2C is used for battery monitoring. SPI is used for display brightness control. It's also providing power for fan. Fan power circuit has flexible way to adjust the power using diodes and resistors (see schematics).
Recommended board thickness is 1.0mm. This board thickness is included to total height of the whole construction.
RTC v1.3(or higher) is required to provide I2C and SPI connections. You don't need to populate the board if RTC is not required. You may connect I2C/SPI directly to DE10-nano without RTC board using 14-pin cable connector - just follow the RTC schematics.
It's better to trim connector pins on the bottom of DE10-nano board to prevent the cable puncture:
Recommended board thickness is 1.6mm
You may solder dual USB2-3 socket directly to the board, or (as shown on pictures) solder single socket with other socked hanging on wires to fit some larger USB device (such as 8BitDo receiver) inside.
This board provides convenient USB device connections - both internal(3xUSB) and external(1xUSB). Board also provides mini-USB pass-through for console (or USB Blaster if required).
This is optional board. You may use any tiny USB HUB to connect devices as you like.
There are 2 versions:
Both versions have 2 Hubs on board. If you are not actively developing FPGA cores, then most likely you don't need to solder the hub on U2 chip. Only solder the hub based on U1 chip and then mUSB1 and the miniUSB "tail" to P2.
Recommended board thickness is 1.0mm. This board thickness is included to total height of the whole construction.
Pi-Top v1 case has large semi-transparent door, so any lights will be visible through. Thus LEDs on DE10-nano are used for indications. Main Board provides the power LED.
Use keyboard to simulate OSD(F12), User(LCtrl-LAlt-RAlt) and Reset(LShift-LCtrl-LAlt-RAlt) buttons.
It's possible to use hardware reset button by short press of power button but it requires hardware modifications of DE10-nano.
Pi-Top power button requires about 2 seconds hold to turn the power on/off. If brightness has been changed since power on, then power button requires around 3-4 seconds hold to turn the power off.
Cooling is necessary as the space around the main chip is to small for passive cooling! The construction uses the turbine fan. It takes air from bottom of the case (remove one magnetic plate on the bottom for air flow)
and blows to the side under AIO board all the way to hole on the right of PiTop case. It's hard to screw the fan. There are many different fans on the market. Currently used fan just lays unattached - surrounded parts just keep the fan in place.
You need to buy USB-to-barrel short cable to connect the power to DE10-nano board.
Optionally AIO board can be covered by black tape for additional protection.
AIO board detached:
Unused ADC header has been removed from DE10-nano to improve LEDs view. Black tape attached to Ethernet connector is to reduce glow effect.
This is how bare DE10-nano fits inside v2 case:
Cover cannot be closed. Board doesn't fit. Picture shows the maximum closed position of the cover. Probably, after removing the metallic rail road and cutting the plastic ribs, DE10-nano will be able to fit. So, irreversible modification of the case will be required with drilling the holes.
Most likely it's possible to use the same AIO and Audio boards. It will require other USB hub board to accommodate RPi holes on the back of the case.
Height comparison v1 vs v2:
Basically, v2 is a little slimmer on the back and a little thicker on the front. But without side-by-side comparison it's hard to notice the differences.
Overall comparison of v2 to v1:
Conclusion: use v2 for Raspberry Pi or Asus Tinker Board ;)
The following Pages showing Unofficial Add-Ons compatible with the MiSTer FPGA System.
This Page lists Seconds Screen Projects which are compatible with the MiSTer FPGA System.
This project provides both the Hardware as well as the Software to drive an OLED display
with your Arduino with simple USB connection to your MiSTer system.
Project-Link: https://github.com/venice1200/MiSTer_tty2oled
Project-Wiki-Link: https://github.com/venice1200/MiSTer_tty2oled/wiki
Forums-Link: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=1887
<img src = https://github.com/venice1200/MiSTer_tty2oled/blob/main/Pictures/tty2oled_video.gif>
This Bash-Script-MiSTer-Add-On uses the DE10-Nano's i2c Interface to drive a small Display
with 128x64 Pixel showing Pictures or Text based on the running core.
Project-Link: https://github.com/venice1200/MiSTer_i2c2oled
Forums-Link: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=2476
<img src = https://raw.githubusercontent.com/venice1200/MiSTer_i2c2oled/main/Pictures/pressplay.gif>
The big brother of tty2oled, but capable of playing MJPEG videos and JPG pictures.
Basically almost Plug'n'Play and almost the same setup and use as with tty2oled.
Project-Link: https://github.com/ojaksch/MiSTer_tty2tft
Forum-Link: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=4843
<img src = https://github.com/ojaksch/MiSTer_tty2tft/blob/main/pictures/oled_tft.gif>
the arcade marquee sized variant. plays animated gifs.
Project-Link: https://github.com/h3llb3nt/tty2rgbmatrix
Forum-Link: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?p=57157
<img src = https://github.com/h3llb3nt/tty2rgbmatrix/raw/main/docs/images/mister_logo.jpeg>
The fat brother of tty2oled and tty2tft, but using a Raspberry Pi. Intended for Marquee sized HDMI displays, but can use any HDMI or DSI display. Works also with MAME setups. The RPi requires some manual work, but the rest is almost Plug'n'Play and almost the same setup and use as with tty2oled / tty2tft.
Project-Link: https://github.com/ojaksch/MiSTer_tty2rpi
Forum-Link: n/a (not announced yet)
<img src = https://github.com/ojaksch/MiSTer_tty2rpi/blob/main/gallery/chopl.gif>
This Page lists IO (User Port/SNAC) Addons which are compatible with the MiSTer FPGA System.
This Adapter converts the MiSTer FPGA User Port (SNAC/Serial IO) into a Commodore IEC/CBM (Serial) Bus Port.
Use the Adapter to connect a real Commodore Floppy 1541 or compatible devices (SD2IEC/PI1541) to your MiSTer.
Project-Link: https://github.com/venice1200/MiSTer_SNAC2IEC
Forums-Link: https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?t=4469
This Page lists Software Addons which are compatible with the MiSTer FPGA System.
Super Attract Mode
📺 SAM puts all your games on display to enjoy whenever your MiSTer is idle
Next one please
| Core |
Home folder |
SDRAM Required? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acorn Archimedes | ARCHIE | Yes | |
| Acorn Atom | AcornAtom | No | |
| Acorn Electron | AcornElectron | Yes | |
| Alice MC10 | AliceMC10 | Yes | |
| Altair 8800 | Altair8800 | No | |
| Amstrad CPC 6128 | Amstrad | Yes | |
| Amstrad PCW | Amstrad PCW | Yes | |
| ao486 (PC 486) | AO486 | No | |
| Apogee | APOGEE | No | |
| Apple I | APPLE-I | No | |
| Apple II+ | Apple-II | No | |
| Apple Macintosh Plus | MACPLUS | Yes | |
| Atari 800XL | ATARI800 | No | |
| Atari ST/STe | AtariST | Yes | |
| Bandai RX-78 | RX78 | No | |
| BBC Micro B, Master | BBCMicro | No | |
| Camputers Lynx 48k, 96k | Lynx48 | No | |
| Casio PV-2000 | Casio_PV-2000 | No | |
| Coleco Adam | Adam | Yes | |
| Color Computer 2, Dragon 32 | CoCo2 | Yes | |
| Color Computer 3 | COCO3 | Yes | |
| Colour Genie EG2000 | eg2000 | No | |
| Commodore 16, Plus/4 | C16 | No | |
| Commodore 64, Ultimax | C64 | Yes | |
| Commodore 128 | C128 | Yes | |
| Commodore Amiga | Amiga | Yes | |
| Commodore PET | PET2001 | No | |
| Commodore VIC-20 | VIC20 | No | |
| Compukit UK101 | UK101 | No | |
| DEC PDP-1 | PDP1 | No | |
| EDSAC | EDSAC | No | |
| Electronika BK0011M | BK0011M | Yes | |
| Galaksija | Galaksija | No | |
| Homelab KIT | Homelab | No | |
| IBM PC/XT | PCXT | Yes | |
| Interact Home Computer | Interact | No | |
| Jupiter Ace | Jupiter | No | |
| Mattel Aquarius | AQUARIUS | No | |
| MSX1 | MSX1 | No | |
| MSX | MSX | Yes | |
| MultiComp | MultiComp | No | |
| NEC PC-8801 | PC8801 | Yes | |
| PMD 85 | PMD85 | No | |
| Ondra SPO 186 | Ondra_SPO186 | No | |
| Orao | ORAO | No | |
| Oric-1, Oric Atmos | Oric | No | |
| SAM Coupé | SAMCOUPE | Yes | |
| Sharp MZ | SharpMZ | No | |
| Sharp X68000 | X68000 | Yes | |
| Sinclair QL | QL | Yes | |
| Sord M5 | Sord M5 | No | |
| Specialist/MX | SPMX | No | |
| Spectravideo SV-328 | SVI328 | Yes | |
| Tatung Einstein TC-01 | TatungEinstein | No | |
| TI-99/4A | TI-99_4A | Yes | |
| Tomy Tutor | TomyTutor | No | |
| TRS-80 Model 1 | TRS-80 | No | |
| TSConf | TSConf | Yes | |
| Vector-06C | VECTOR06 | No | |
| VTech Laser 310 | Laser | No | |
| ZX Spectrum | Spectrum | Yes | |
| ZX Spectrum Next | ZXNext | Yes | |
| ZX81 | ZX81 | No |
| Core |
Home folder |
SDRAM Required? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arduboy | Arduboy | No | |
| Chess | Chess | No | |
| CHIP-8 | Chip8 | No | |
| Epoch Galaxy II | EpochGalaxyII | No | |
| Flappy Bird | FLAPPY | No | |
| Game of Life | GameOfLife | No | |
| Slug Cross | SlugCross | No | |
| TomyTronic Scramble | TomyScramble | No |
| Core |
Additional arcades | SDRAM Required? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkanoid | No | ||
| Asteroids | No | ||
| Asteroids Deluxe | Yes | ||
| Atari Tetris | No | ||
| Athena | Fighting Golf | No | |
| Bagman / Le Bagnard | Botanic, Pickin', Super Bagman, Squash | No | |
| Bally Midway Astrocade / Bally Midway Arcade | The Adventures of Robby Roto!, Extra Bases, Gorf, Sea Wolf II, Space Zap, Wizard of Wor | No | |
| Bally Midway MCR-1 | Kick-Man, Kick, Solar Fox | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-2 | Domino Man, Kozmik Krooz'r, Satan's Hollow, Tron, Two Tigers, Wacko | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-3 | Discs of Tron, Journey, Tapper, Timber | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-Monoboard | Demolition Derby, Max RPM, Power Drive, Rampage, Sarge, Star Guards | Yes | |
| Bally Midway MCR-Scroll | Crater Rider, Spy Hunter, Turbo Tag | Yes | |
| Bank Panic! | No | ||
| BattleZone | Red Baron, Bradley Trainer | No | |
| Berzerk | No | ||
| Black Widow | Gravitar, Lunar Battle | No | |
| Blockade | CoMotion, Hustle, Blasto | No | |
| Bomb Jack | No | ||
| Bosconian | No | ||
| Breakout | No | ||
| Burger Time | No | ||
| Burnin' Rubber / Car Action | No | ||
| Canyon Bomber | No | ||
| Cave | Dangun Feveron, DoDonPachi, DonPachi, ESP Ra.De., Gaia Crusaders, Guwange, Puzzle Uo Poko, Thunder Heroes | Yes | |
| Centipede | No | ||
| Chameleon | No | ||
| Computer Space | No | ||
| Congo Bongo | No | ||
| Cosmic Guerilla | Yes | ||
| Crazy Balloon | No | ||
| Crazy Climber | No | ||
| Crazy Kong | Crazy Kong Part II | No | |
| Crystal Castles | No | ||
| Defender | Colony 7, Jin, Mayday | No | |
| Dig Dug | No | ||
| Dominos | No | ||
| Donkey Kong | Radar Scope, Pest Place, Donkey Kong 3(bootleg) | No | |
| Donkey Kong 3 | No | ||
| Donkey Kong Junior / Donkey Kong Jr. | No | ||
| Dottori-Kun | Dottori-Man Jr | No | |
| Exerion | No | ||
| Express Raider | Western Express | No | |
| Finalizer - Super Transformation | No | ||
| Food Fight | No | ||
| Freeze | Freeze, Jack the Giantkiller, Zzyzzyxx, Super Casino, Tri-Pool | No | |
| Frenzy | No | ||
| Galaga | No | ||
| Galaxian | Azurian Attack, Black Hole, Catacomb, Clean Sweep, Devil Fish, King And Balloon, Lucky Today, Moon Cresta, Mr. Do's Nightmare, Omega, Orbitron, Pisces, UniWar S, Victory, War of the Bugs | No | |
| Galivan | Cosmo Police Galivan, UFO Robo Dangar | No | |
| Gaplus / Galaga 3 | No | ||
| Gauntlet | Gauntlet, Gauntlet II, Vindicators II | Yes | |
| Gyruss | No | ||
| Ikari Warriors | Ikari JP, Victory Road, Dogou Souken | Yes | |
| Inferno | No | ||
| Irem M62 | The Battle-Road, Horizon, Kid Niki: Radical Ninja / Kaiketsu Yanchamaru, Kung-Fu Master / Spartan X, Lode Runner, Lode Runner II: The Bungling Strikes Back, Lode Runner III: Golden Labyrinth / Majin No Fukkatsu, Lode Runner IV: Teikoku Karano Dasshutsu, Lot Lot, Spelunker, Spelunker II, Youjyuden | Yes | |
| Irem M72 | R-Type, Ninja Spirit, Image Fight, Gallop - Armed Police Unit, Legend of Hero Tonma, Mr. HELI no Daibouken, Air Duel, Dragon Breed, X Multiply | Yes | |
| Irem M92 | Blade Master, Dream Soccer '94, Gun Force II, Gunforce, Hook, In The Hunt, Lethal Thunder, Major Title 2, Mystic Riders, Ninja Baseball Bat Man, R-Type Leo, Superior Soldiers, Undercover Cops | Yes | |
| Iron Horse | No | ||
| Jackal | Yes | ||
| Jailbreak | No | ||
| Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest | No | ||
| Kick And Run | No | ||
| Lady Bug | Lady Bug, Snap Jack, Dorodon, Cosmic Avenger | No | |
| Lunar Lander | No | ||
| Mario Bros | No | ||
| Missile Command | No | ||
| Moon Patrol | Yes | ||
| Mr. Do! | No | ||
| Mr. Jong | BlockBuster, CrazyBlocks | No | |
| Mystic Marathon | No | ||
| Ninja-Kun: Majō no Bōken | No | ||
| Pac-Man / Puck Man | Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Birdiy, Crush Roller, Dream Shopper, Eeekk!, Eggor, Eyes, Gorkans, Jump Shot, Lizard Wizard, Mr. TNT, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Club, Pac-Man Plus, Pac Manic Miner Man, Ponpoko, Super Glob, Van-Van Car, Woodpecker | No | |
| Pengo | No | ||
| PenguinKunWars | No | ||
| Performan | No | ||
| Phoenix | No | ||
| Pleiads | No | ||
| PolyPlay | No | ||
| Pong | No | ||
| Pooyan | No | ||
| Popeye | Sky Skipper | No | |
| QBert | No | ||
| River Patrol | No | ||
| Raizing | Armed Police Batrider, Battle Bakraid, Battle Garegga, Kingdom Grandprix, Sorcer Striker | Yes | |
| Rally-X | New Rally-X | No | |
| Robotron 2084 | Alien Arena, Bubbles, Joust, Playball, Sinistar, Splat, Stargate | No | |
| Rush'n Attack / Green Beret | Mr. Goemon | No | |
| Scooter Shooter | No | ||
| Scramble | Amidar, Anteater, Armored Car, Battle of Atlantis, Calipso, Dark Planet, The End, Frogger, Lost Tomb, Mars, Mighty Monkey, Minefield, Moon War, Rescue, Speed Coin, Strategy X, Super Cobra, Tazz-Mania, Turtles | Yes | |
| Sega System 1 | 4-D Warriors, Block Gal, Bullfight, Flicky, I'm Sorry, Mister Viking, My Hero, Pitfall II, Rafflesia, Regulus, Sega Ninja, Spatter, Star Jacker, Swat, TeddyBoy Blues, Up'n Down, Water Match, Wonder Boy | No | |
| Sega System E | Hang-On Jr, Slap Shooter, Transformer, Pythagoras no Nazo, Opa Opa, Fantasy Zone II - The Tears of Opa-Opa, Tetris, Megumi Rescue | Yes | |
| Silver Land | No | ||
| SNK Triple Z80 Arcade hardware | ASO, Alpha Mission, Arian Mission | No | |
| Slap Fight / ALCON | Tiger Heli | No | |
| Solomon's Key / Solomon no Kagi | No | ||
| Sonson | Yes | ||
| Space Invaders | 280Z ZZAp, Amazing Maze, Attack Force, Balloon Bomber, Blue Shark, Boot Hill, Clowns, Cosmo, Galaxy Wars, Gun Fight,Laguna Racer, Lunar Rescue, Lupin III, Sea Wolf, Space Encounters, Space Invaders II, Space Invaders Part II, Vortex | Yes | |
| Space Race | No | ||
| Sprint 1 | No | ||
| Sprint 2 | No | ||
| Subs | Yes | ||
| Super Breakout | No | ||
| Taito System SJ | Alpine Ski, Bio Attack, Elevator Action, High Way Race, Jungle King, Pirate Pete, Space Cruiser, Space Seeker, Time Tunnel, Water Ski, Wild Western | No | |
| Tank Battalion | No | ||
| Tecmo | Arugosu no Senshi: Legendary Warrior, Rygar: Legendary Warrior, Gemini Wing, Silkworm | Yes | |
| TIA-MC1 | Billiard, Gorodki, Konek Gorbunok, Kot-Rybolov, Snezhnaja Koroleva, SOS | No | |
| Time Pilot | No | ||
| Time Pilot '84 | No | ||
| The Tower of Druaga | Dig Dug II, Mappy, Motos, Super Pacman, Pac & Pal, Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp, Grobda | No | |
| T.N.K. III | No | ||
| Traverse USA: | MotoRace USA, Zippy Race, Mototour Shot Rider | No | |
| Tropical Angel / New Tropical Angel | Yes | ||
| Turkey Shoot - The Day They Took Over | No | ||
| Ultra Tank | No | ||
| Universal Cosmic games | Space Panic, Cosmic Alien, Magical Spot, Devil Zone & No Mans Land | Yes | |
| VBall | Yes | ||
| Xaind Sleena | Xain'd Sleena bootleg B and BA | Yes | |
| Xevious | Super Xevious | No | |
| Zaxxon | Super Zaxxon, Future Spy | Yes | |
| Zig Zag | No |
Also check the list of JOTEGO's arcade cores
| Core |
Home folder |
SDRAM Required? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boot Menu | No | ||
| SDRAM board test | MEMTEST | Yes | |
| ADC board test | ADCTest | No | |
| Input test | InputTest | No |
MiSTer uses quite complex hardware, but thanks to open source, developers with different levels of hardware/software knowledge can develop for this platform. Many cores for MiSTer use common code simplifying access to hardware and firmware called Framework. We will use the Template core in this guide.
Most of the sources of the Framework are located in the sys folder.
Usually, for a new project, you need the following files/folders
sys foldermycore.qpf (project file. Keep it read-only.)mycore.qsfmycore.srf (some warnings ignored)mycore_Q13.qsfmycore_Q13.srf (some warnings ignored)You'll need to make some changes:
mycore.* files according to your project.mycore with the name of your project.*.qsf files contain list of project files. Remove files not related to your project.The initial set of files for your project is now ready. Now you can open the project in Quartus 17.0 or higher.
Assuming you are porting an existing core to MiSTer, the top module entity should be renamed to emu. See mycore.sv and its input/output signals:
module emu
(
//Master input clock
input CLK_50M,
//Async reset from top-level module.
//Can be used as initial reset.
input RESET,
//Must be passed to hps_io module
inout [45:0] HPS_BUS,
//Base video clock. Usually equals to CLK_SYS.
output CLK_VIDEO,
//Multiple resolutions are supported using different CE_PIXEL rates.
//Must be based on CLK_VIDEO
output CE_PIXEL,
//Video aspect ratio for HDMI. Most retro systems have ratio 4:3.
//if VIDEO_ARX[12] or VIDEO_ARY[12] is set then [11:0] contains scaled size instead of aspect ratio.
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARX,
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARY,
output [7:0] VGA_R,
output [7:0] VGA_G,
output [7:0] VGA_B,
output VGA_HS,
output VGA_VS,
output VGA_DE, // = ~(VBlank | HBlank)
output LED_USER, // 1 - ON, 0 - OFF.
// b[1]: 0 - LED status is system status ORed with b[0]
// 1 - LED status is controled solely by b[0]
// hint: supply 2'b00 to let the system control the LED.
output [1:0] LED_POWER,
output [1:0] LED_DISK,
output [15:0] AUDIO_L,
output [15:0] AUDIO_R,
output AUDIO_S, // 1 - signed audio samples, 0 - unsigned
//High latency DDR3 RAM interface
//Use for non-critical time purposes
output DDRAM_CLK,
input DDRAM_BUSY,
output [7:0] DDRAM_BURSTCNT,
output [28:0] DDRAM_ADDR,
input [63:0] DDRAM_DOUT,
input DDRAM_DOUT_READY,
output DDRAM_RD,
output [63:0] DDRAM_DIN,
output [7:0] DDRAM_BE,
output DDRAM_WE,
//SDRAM interface with lower latency
output SDRAM_CLK,
output SDRAM_CKE,
output [12:0] SDRAM_A,
output [1:0] SDRAM_BA,
inout [15:0] SDRAM_DQ,
output SDRAM_DQML,
output SDRAM_DQMH,
output SDRAM_nCS,
output SDRAM_nCAS,
output SDRAM_nRAS,
output SDRAM_nWE
// there are more needed signals - see the Template_MiSTer
);These signals are main connections to MiSTer. You'll need to modify your core according to these signals.
Most top-level signals should be self-descriptive and more or less familiar to core developers, so I won't go too deep into it. I will describe some important parts where you need to pay attention to make your core work.
input RESETThis signal is asserted while ARM part is under initial preparation. It can be used as an initial reset. It won't be asserted anymore during the whole work of core except when the user chooses another core from OSD. Then ARM will assert RESET in the existing core to let it stop any possible activity before switching to another core (cores loaded through USB Blaster won't get "bye-bye" reset).
If core uses DDR3 memory (scaler isn't counted) then initial and bye-bye reset are crucial for correct operation. You will get a hard hang if DDR3 is accessed during RESET.
inout [45:0] HPS_BUSPass it as-is to hps_io module.
output CLK_VIDEO,
output CE_PIXEL,
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARX,
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARY,
output VGA_DE,Besides other well-known VGA_* signals, these signals are important in MiSTer in order to get a proper display. CLK_VIDEO and CE_PIXEL are used to sample the pixels. If pixel rate equals to CLK_VIDEO, then set CE_PIXEL to 1. Many cores have a common system clock where pixel frequency is the product of the division of system clock by some number. In this case, set CLK_VIDEO to the system clock and assert CE_PIXEL at clock cycles where a new pixel is produced. Look in mycore.sv to see how it's done.
Without CLK_VIDEO, you can still have VGA output, but OSD won't work.
VIDEO_ARX and VIDEO_ARY define aspect ratio on HDMI output. It doesn't affect VGA output. Usually VIDEO_ARX=4/VIDEO_ARY=3 or VIDEO_ARX=16/VIDEO_ARY=9. Other values are possible, but extreme values may cause video problems.
VGA_DE is another crucial part for MiSTer. Basically, it's opposite of blank signals ~(VBlank | HBlank) but with some notes. HDMI video scaler detects the horizontal resolution by first active video line. So, you need to be sure the first line is not cut due to misaligned VBlank and HBlank signals. Otherwise, you'll get a distorted HDMI video.
VGA_HS and VGA_VS should have positive pulse polarity.
output AUDIO_SMake sure you set correct mode signed/unsigned, otherwise audio will be distorted.
DDRAM_ are signals for DDR3 memory. If the core can use this memory instead of SDRAM, then an SDRAM board is not required.
SDRAM_ are signals for SDRAM memory. The core will require an SDRAM board if these signals are used.
The supplementary module hps_io.v is also required (see mycore.sv). It provides input/output control from the ARM side. Most signals are the same or similar to those in MiST (user_io/data_io or mist_io modules). So, if the core is ported from MiST, the signals will be mostly identical.
MiSTer has some changes/improvements over the original MiST I/O modules:
VDNUM to 2..4 if more than one mounted image is required. If VDNUM is set to 1, then related signals are same as in MiST.MiSTer provides an on-screen display (OSD) that can be toggled on and off by pressing F12 on your keyboard (or OSD button). For each core that is loaded, this menu can be configured to add specific options for that core.
The top-level module for the cores is emu. This does NOT mean emu is the top-level module for the project, but rather it is the top-level module for our purposes. The emu module is typically found in the SystemVerilog file (*.sv extension) with the same name as the project. As an example, the Arcade-Galaga project has it's top-level module at Arcade-Galaga.sv.
The configuration string is stored in the variable CONF_STR of the emu module. This variable is passed to the hps_io module that handles sending it to the processor to be read when necessary.
Each line of the configuration string is delimited with a semicolon.
The first line is the core name followed by 2 semicolons. The core name is also used e.g. as the location inside the games folder.
UART[{speed...}] - Enables UART menu.{speed} - a list of numeric interface speed values separated by a colon :. Defaults are 110, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, 19200, 31250, 38400, 57600, 115200.MIDI[{speed}] - Enables MIDI menu.{speed} - a list of numeric interface speed values separated by a colon :. Default is 31250.SS{base}:{size} - Savestate support for memory area designated by {base} address and {size}.[] - means optional parameter):C[,{Text}] - Enables a cheat menu entry with the label {Text}.CHEAT - like DIP, for arcades with a cheat systemD{Index} - Prefix which disables the option if menumask[Index] is set.d{Index} - Same as 'D', but disables the option if menumask[Index] is NOT set.DIP - in arcade cores, this will display the DIP menu from the MRAF[S][#],{Ext}[,{Text}][,{Address}] - Load file button. {Ext} - a concatenated list of 3 character file extensions. For example, BINGEN would be BIN and GEN extensions.{Text} string is the text that is displayed before the extensions like "Load RAM". If {Text} is not specified, then default is "Load *".[S] - core supports save files, load a file, and mount a save for reading or writing# is explicit index (or index is generated from line number if index not given).{Address} - load file directly into DDRAM at this addressioctl_index from hps_io will be: ioctl_index[5:0] = index(explicit or auto), ioctl_index[7:6] = extension indexFC[#],{Ext}[,{Text}][,{Address}] - Open file and remember it, useful for remembering an alternative rom, config, or other type of file. See F for how the options work.H{Index} - Prefix which hides the option if menumask[Index] is set.h{Index} - Same as H, but hides the option if menumask[Index] is NOT set.O{Index1}[{Index2}],{Name},{Options...} - Option button that allows you to select between various choices.{Index1} and {Index2} are values from 0-9 and A-V (like Hex but it extends from A-V instead of A-F). This represents all 31 bits. First and second index are the range of bits that will be set in the status register.{Name} is what is shown to describe the option.{Options...} - a list of comma separated options.O[{Index1}:{Index2}],{Name},{Options...} - Option button that allows you to select between various choices.{Index1} and {Index2} First and second index are the range of bits that will be set in the status register. So O[5:4] corresponds to status[5:4] from hps_io. Where 128 > Index2 >= Index1 > 0. For a simple toggle option the :{Index2} part can be omitted.{Name} is what is shown to describe the option.{Options...} - a list of comma separated options.P{#},{Title} - Creates sub-page for options with {Title}.P{#} - Prefix to place the option into specific {#} page. This is added before O# but after something like d#. (e.g. "d5P1o2,Vertical Crop,Disabled,216p(5x);", is correct and "P1d5o2,Vertical Crop,Disabled,216p(5x);", is incorrect and the menu options will not work.)R{Index},{Name} - Same as T option but closes the OSD after selecting. Convenient for Reset option.S{Slot},{Ext}[,{Text}] - Mount SD card button. {Slot} - a value from 0-3. Up to four images can be mounted at the same time.{Ext} - same as in F option.{Text} - The text that is displayed before the extensions like "Load RAM". If {Text} is not specified, then default is "Mount *".T{Index},{Name} - Trigger button. This is a simple button that will pulse HIGH of specified {Index} bit in status register. A perfect example of this is for a reset button.{Name} is the text that describes the button function.-[,TEXT] - empty (or with TEXT) line.o,t,r equal their upper case variants with adding 32 to status bit indexes.Status Bit [0] is reserved as a Soft Reset.
For example:
// Status Bit Map:
// Upper Lower
// 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
// 01234567890123456789012345678901 23456789012345678901234567890123
// 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV
// If you add a status option like O89 this is going to use the first group of status bits on the left since the "O" for option is capitalized ( marked Upper). Then it's going to use 8 and 9, this is from the bottom row (which is alphanumeric). So you would update the index after using these like so:
// Status Bit Map:
// Upper Lower
// 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
// 01234567890123456789012345678901 23456789012345678901234567890123
// 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV
// XXUse bits status[122:121]:
O[122:121]Old method:
O89new:
O[9:8]Both put the info in status[9:8]
J[1],{Button1}[,{Button2},...] - J1 means lock keyboard to joystick emulation mode. Useful for keyboard-less systems such as consoles. {Button1},{Button2},... is list of joystick buttons used in the core. Up to 12 buttons can be listed. Analog axis are not defined here. The user just needs to map them through the Menu core.jn,{SNES Button Name1},[,{SNES Button2},...] - this sets the default mapping of the buttons. ie: jn,A would map joystick bit 4 to the A button on a SNES style controller automaticallyjp - same as jn but used when gamepad_defaults=1 in MiSTer.INI. Typically refers to positional mapping relative to a SNES controllerV,{Version String} - Version string. {Version String} is the version string. Takes the core name and appends version string for name to display.I,INFO1,INFO2,...,INFO255 - INFO1-INFO255 lines to display as OSD info (top left corner of screen).DEFMRA,{mra name} - default MRA (ie: Puckman.mra) to be used when core is uploaded by USB blaster (debug)The difference is one of convention when mapping buttons:
What does this mean?
Consider how the internal gamepad is defined on MiSTer:
With "jn" mapping:
With "jp" mapping:
On MiSTER the top level is inside sys/sys_top.v When writing or porting a MiSTer core, instead of telling quartus to use your own top, quartus uses sys_top, and it will call a module called emu that you need to provide. This will document the parameters that your top level will need to implement. The MiSTer sys_top will handle a lot of useful things like audio and HDMI video.
your core should be inside an emu block, see the Template Top Level for an example.
//Master input clock
input CLK_50M,Most cores will use the PLL which is instantiated from the sys folder, but the pll needs to live in the rtl folder off of the top level (at the same level as sys). This choice was made so that you can update the sys folder without losing the PLL configuration.
NOTE: For full compatibility with the existing sys architecture, keep the pll named 'pll' and the instance 'pll' as shown below. You can use the megawizard to edit the pll to modify the required frequencies etc... (including adding more outputs). If you don't have a pll create a new one, or use the one from the template. The sys_top.sdc requires the name for the pll and the instance name be correct.
wire clk_sys;
pll pll
(
.refclk(CLK_50M),
.rst(0),
.outclk_0(clk_sys)
); //Async reset from top-level module.
//Can be used as initial reset.
input RESET,Normally the RESET line is used in conjunction with the button on the I/O board, as well as a status flag. Most cores use status bit 0, and a CONF_STR that includes an option like: "R0,Reset;"
wire reset = RESET | status[0] | buttons[1];The HPS Bus is used to communicate with the ARM processor. It is passed into the hps_io module which will do a bunch of work for the core, and provide a simpler interface to use. Include the hps_io module in the emu module. See hps_io
//Must be passed to hps_io module
inout [45:0] HPS_BUS,The top level module that calls emu includes the high quality HDMI scaler, and provides a fairly simple interface to output video on MiSTer. There are a number of other helper modules that can be included to provide proper video output.
At the simplest level provide a CLK_VIDEO, and/or CE_PIXEL (CE_PIXEL can be set to 1 if your video clk is correct). The video clock needs to be greater than 40MHZ for all of the features to work.
Generally the video signals want to be whatever the native resolution of the machine that is being emulated. ie: an old 8bit computer will generally output 15khz video. MiSTer has a scandoubler built in that will create VGA compatible output if the user wants that on their VGA port. To include this scandoubler in the core you will usually use the video_mixer or arcade_video modules. The forced_scandoubler signal comes from the hps_io module. Some users want to use a 15khz monitor with 15khz cores, so the core itself shouldn't have a scandoubler built in. Some original devices may have had higher resolution output, if that native output was greater than 15khz, it is ok to output it natively through the VGA signals. The scaler will use the VGA_DE (usually based on HBLANK and VBLANK assign VGA_DE = ~(HBlank | VBlank);) to scale it up to HDMI based on the settings in the ini file.
Use the Video Mixer Module to add mister framework standard features like gamma support, scaling, and scandoubling.
Use the Video Freak Module to add cropping and scaling
Use the Arcade Video Module for arcade cores to support rotation, scandoubling, and most of the features that are in video_mixer. This file also includes screen_rotate which is used for vertical arcade games to allow rotation over HDMI.
//Base video clock. Usually equals to CLK_SYS.
output CLK_VIDEO,
//Multiple resolutions are supported using different CE_PIXEL rates.
//Must be based on CLK_VIDEO
output CE_PIXEL,
//Video aspect ratio for HDMI. Most retro systems have ratio 4:3.
//if VIDEO_ARX[12] or VIDEO_ARY[12] is set then [11:0] contains scaled size instead of aspect ratio.
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARX,
output [12:0] VIDEO_ARY,
output [7:0] VGA_R,
output [7:0] VGA_G,
output [7:0] VGA_B,
output VGA_HS,
output VGA_VS,
output VGA_DE, // = ~(VBlank | HBlank)
output VGA_F1,
output [1:0] VGA_SL,
output VGA_SCALER, // Force VGA scaler
input [11:0] HDMI_WIDTH,
input [11:0] HDMI_HEIGHT,
output HDMI_FREEZE,
`ifdef MISTER_FB
// Use framebuffer in DDRAM (USE_FB=1 in qsf)
// FB_FORMAT:
// [2:0] : 011=8bpp(palette) 100=16bpp 101=24bpp 110=32bpp
// [3] : 0=16bits 565 1=16bits 1555
// [4] : 0=RGB 1=BGR (for 16/24/32 modes)
//
// FB_STRIDE either 0 (rounded to 256 bytes) or multiple of pixel size (in bytes)
output FB_EN,
output [4:0] FB_FORMAT,
output [11:0] FB_WIDTH,
output [11:0] FB_HEIGHT,
output [31:0] FB_BASE,
output [13:0] FB_STRIDE,
input FB_VBL,
input FB_LL,
output FB_FORCE_BLANK,
`ifdef MISTER_FB_PALETTE
// Palette control for 8bit modes.
// Ignored for other video modes.
output FB_PAL_CLK,
output [7:0] FB_PAL_ADDR,
output [23:0] FB_PAL_DOUT,
input [23:0] FB_PAL_DIN,
output FB_PAL_WR,
`endif
`endif output LED_USER, // 1 - ON, 0 - OFF.
// b[1]: 0 - LED status is system status OR'd with b[0]
// 1 - LED status is controled solely by b[0]
// hint: supply 2'b00 to let the system control the LED.
output [1:0] LED_POWER,
output [1:0] LED_DISK, // I/O board button press simulation (active high)
// b[1]: user button
// b[0]: osd button
output [1:0] BUTTONS, input CLK_AUDIO, // 24.576 MHz
output [15:0] AUDIO_L,
output [15:0] AUDIO_R,
output AUDIO_S, // 1 - signed audio samples, 0 - unsigned
output [1:0] AUDIO_MIX, // 0 - no mix, 1 - 25%, 2 - 50%, 3 - 100% (mono)Used for tape input and other things. An extra module on MiSTer that provides an analog audio jack, and conversion to digial signals.
//ADC
inout [3:0] ADC_BUS, //SD-SPI
output SD_SCK,
output SD_MOSI,
input SD_MISO,
output SD_CS,
input SD_CD, //High latency DDR3 RAM interface
//Use for non-critical time purposes
output DDRAM_CLK, // any clock, no restrictions. Typically main core clock
input DDRAM_BUSY, // every read and write request is only accepted in a cycle where busy is low
output [7:0] DDRAM_BURSTCNT, // amount of words to be written/read. Maximum is 128
output [28:0] DDRAM_ADDR, // starting address for read/write. In case of burst, the addresses will internally count up
input [63:0] DDRAM_DOUT, // data coming from (burst) read
input DDRAM_DOUT_READY, // high for 1 clock cycle for every 64 bit dataword requested via (burst) read request
output DDRAM_RD, // request read at DDRAM_ADDR and DDRAM_BURSTCNT length
output [63:0] DDRAM_DIN, // data word to be written
output [7:0] DDRAM_BE, // byte enable for each of the 8 bytes in DDRAM_DIN, only used for writing. (1=write, 0=ignore)
output DDRAM_WE, // request write at DDRAM_ADDR with DDRAM_DIN data and DDRAM_BE maskThe internal DDR3 controller handles writes very efficiently, so burst writes are typically not required. To write, DDRAM_WE should be high for 1 clock cycle whenever DDRAM_BUSY is low. It will write the data in DDRAM_DIN to DDRAM_ADDR with respect to DDRAM_BE. For a single write, DDRAM_BURSTCNT should be 1. Multiple writes can also be issued without pausing when DDRAM_BURSTCNT = 1.
To read one or multiple 64 bit words, DDRAM_RD must be high for 1 clock cycle, while DDRAM_BUSY is low. It will read DDRAM_BURSTCNT 64 bit words from DDRAM_ADDR(counting up for bursts) and provide the results, typically one each clock cycle, at DDRAM_DOUT with DDRAM_DOUT_READY = 1, when the read is valid. Every read request will have a latency of multiple cycles. Something like 20 cycles @ 100Mhz is a typical value, but it can be way longer. DDR3 read should therefore be used with higher DDRAM_BURSTCNT to make use of the high bandwidth, whenever possible.
DDRAM_BUSY acts like an ignore for the request ports. So whenever this signal is high, no request can be issued in this clock cycle. However, having a request pending doesn't lead to any problem, so it is uncritical to e.g. set DDRAM_RD = 1 in a clocked process and only clear it back to 0 when DDRAM_BUSY = 0. This way, the request signals can be clocked instead of being combinatorial, leading to higher possible clock speed and less problems with timing closure.
For full understanding of the SDRAM interface you will need to look at the specifications for the SDRAM chip. Also, the hardware may be useful, here is the Schematic. It is useful to look through some code that already runs on MiSTer:
Look through the data sheet for the 32MB module. The 64MB module data sheet isn't as detailed.
Some example SDRAM modules:
//SDRAM interface with lower latency
output SDRAM_CLK,
output SDRAM_CKE,
output [12:0] SDRAM_A,
output [1:0] SDRAM_BA,
inout [15:0] SDRAM_DQ,
output SDRAM_DQML,
output SDRAM_DQMH,
output SDRAM_nCS,
output SDRAM_nCAS,
output SDRAM_nRAS,
output SDRAM_nWE,
`ifdef MISTER_DUAL_SDRAM
//Secondary SDRAM
//Set all output SDRAM_* signals to Z ASAP if SDRAM2_EN is 0
input SDRAM2_EN,
output SDRAM2_CLK,
output [12:0] SDRAM2_A,
output [1:0] SDRAM2_BA,
inout [15:0] SDRAM2_DQ,
output SDRAM2_nCS,
output SDRAM2_nCAS,
output SDRAM2_nRAS,
output SDRAM2_nWE,
`endifSerial is passed to the linux arm side of the MiSTer. On the arm side, software decides what to do with the data. ie: send it to shell, ppp, MIDI, etc.
Different serial speeds and optons are set using options in the CONF_STR.
input UART_CTS,
output UART_RTS,
input UART_RXD,
output UART_TXD,
output UART_DTR,
input UART_DSR,| USB | P7 | Name | PIN | Mister | emu wire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +5V | +5V | |||
| 2 | 2 | TX | SDA | AH9 | USER_IO[1] |
| 3 | 1 | RX | SCL | AG11 | USER_IO[0] |
| 4 | GND | GND | |||
| 5 | 8 | DSR | IO10 | AF15 | USER_IO[5] |
| 6 | 7 | DTR | IO11 | AG16 | USER_IO[4] |
| 7 | 6 | CTS | IO12 | AH11 | USER_IO[3] |
| 8 | 5 | RTS | IO13 | AH12 | USER_IO[2] |
| 9 | 10 | IO6 | IO8 | AF17 | USER_IO[6] |
| 10 | Shield | Shield |
// Open-drain User port.
// 0 - D+/RX
// 1 - D-/TX
// 2..6 - USR2..USR6
// Set USER_OUT to 1 to read from USER_IN.
input [6:0] USER_IN,
output [6:0] USER_OUT,This is set to 1 when the OSD is open. It can be used to pause the core when the OSD is open, and/or for autosave.
input OSD_STATUSHPS stands for Hard Processor System, or the ARM part of the MiSTer FPGA. The hps_io.sv file contains the hps_io module that talks to the MiSTer binary on the arm side. It provides convenient signals to use in each core that abstract the different types of I/O that the core might need to support.
The module has a few parameters that are used to set it up.
clk_sys is the system clock. Make sure to use the same clock when reading from these signals. HPS_BUS should be passed through from the top level emu.
//
// Use buffer to access SD card. It's time-critical part.
//
// WIDE=1 for 16 bit file I/O
// VDNUM 1..4
// BLKSZ 0..7: 0 = 128, 1 = 256, 2 = 512(default), .. 7 = 16384
//
module hps_io #(parameter CONF_STR, CONF_STR_BRAM=1, PS2DIV=0, WIDE=0, VDNUM=1, BLKSZ=2, PS2WE=0)
(
input clk_sys,
inout [45:0] HPS_BUS,
MiSTer supports up to 6 players on separate joysticks. joystick_0..5 are digital joysticks. They contain the directions in the first 4 bits, and then they have buttons that can be mapped using the CONF_STR J.
Analog joysticks are supported by connecting joystick_l_analog_x. The values are analog -127..+127, Y: [15:8], X: [7:0] . Depending on how you want to use the values, you may need to renormalize them. -128 is omitted so it is easier to invert the direction. l is the left joystick, r is the right joystick on a playstation style controller.
Paddles - paddle_x - are input devices that have a range from 0 to 255. They do not spin fully.
Spinners - spinner_x - are a paddle looking device, but there is no stop in the hardware, they spin freely. Therefore, these use an extra bit 8 that toggles with each update. the value is in 0:7, -128..+127 - they are relative, and usually the value will be between -8 and 8.
// buttons up to 32
output reg [31:0] joystick_0,
output reg [31:0] joystick_1,
output reg [31:0] joystick_2,
output reg [31:0] joystick_3,
output reg [31:0] joystick_4,
output reg [31:0] joystick_5,
// analog -127..+127, Y: [15:8], X: [7:0]
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_0,
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_1,
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_2,
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_3,
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_4,
output reg [15:0] joystick_l_analog_5,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_0,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_1,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_2,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_3,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_4,
output reg [15:0] joystick_r_analog_5,
// paddle 0..255
output reg [7:0] paddle_0,
output reg [7:0] paddle_1,
output reg [7:0] paddle_2,
output reg [7:0] paddle_3,
output reg [7:0] paddle_4,
output reg [7:0] paddle_5,
// spinner [7:0] -128..+127, [8] - toggle with every update
output reg [8:0] spinner_0,
output reg [8:0] spinner_1,
output reg [8:0] spinner_2,
output reg [8:0] spinner_3,
output reg [8:0] spinner_4,
output reg [8:0] spinner_5,Buttons from the top level emu are what the hardware sees. Buttons from the hps_io can include emulated button presses from the OSD, HPS, etc.
// I/O board button press simulation (active high)
// b[1]: user button
// b[0]: osd button
output [1:0] buttons,Forced Scandoubler is set to 1 when the user wants the scandoubler turned on.
output forced_scandoubler,Direct Video is set to 1 when the MiSTer is using the hdmi as a VGA port with a proper converter.
output direct_video,The status bits are used by the OSD to provide the core with status that the user picks in the OSD. For example, the status string:
"O1,Colors,NTSC,PAL;",would set status[1] to 0 for NTSC and 1 for PAL. See the documentation for the CONF_STR to understand all of the OSD options.
output reg [63:0] status,
input [63:0] status_in,
input status_set,
input [15:0] status_menumask, input info_req,
input [7:0] info,new_vmode - if the core needs to force the system to change video modes, it can set this flag
//toggle to force notify of video mode change
input new_vmode,Hard drive images are loaded with the S option in the OSD. There can be up to 10 images mounted at once if VDUM is set to 10. 1-10 are valid values.
When an image is mounted a bit is set in img_mounted, and then img_readonly and img_size are valid for that img_mounted. Save these values into a register if you will need them later.
These are block devices, so the way to read or write to them is to first specify the blk, and then specify a rd or wr and it will start to stream addresses through the sd_buff_addr.
There is no wait line, because it is assumed that you will be writing one block of data into DPRAM and it will write immediately.
To read data, set the sb_lba to the block number you want to seek to. Then set the correct bit in sd_rd to 1, and the HPS will respond by raising the correct bit in sd_ack, and keeping it high for the duration of the read. The HPS will then use sd_buff_addr and sd_buff_dout and sd_buff_wr to count from 0 to BLKSZ and send a byte per clock. After reaching the last byte, it will clear the sd_ack.
To write data, set the sb_lba to the block number you want to seek to. Then set the correct bit in sd_wr to 1. Similar to a read, it will raise the sd_ack bit, and count the sd_buff_addr - the core will respond by setting each sd_buff_din to the data it wants to write. After the block is written (sd_buff_addr reaches BLKSZ) sd_ack will be cleared.
When the user unmounts the image from the OSD, img_mounted will go high, and the img_size will be set to zero. That is how the core knows to unmount the current image.
sd_ack - data read on the sd_buff_out is valid OR that write data must be valid on sd_buff_in[VDNUM]
sd_buff_addr - byte address
// SD config
output reg [VD:0] img_mounted, // signaling that new image has been mounted
output reg img_readonly, // mounted as read only. valid only for active bit in img_mounted
output reg [63:0] img_size, // size of image in bytes. valid only for active bit in img_mounted
// SD block level access
input [31:0] sd_lba[VDNUM],
input [5:0] sd_blk_cnt[VDNUM], // number of blocks-1, total size ((sd_blk_cnt+1)*(1<<(BLKSZ+7))) must be <= 16384!
input [VD:0] sd_rd,
input [VD:0] sd_wr,
output reg [VD:0] sd_ack,
// SD byte level access. Signals for 2-PORT altsyncram.
output reg [AW:0] sd_buff_addr,
output reg [DW:0] sd_buff_dout,
input [DW:0] sd_buff_din[VDNUM],
output reg sd_buff_wr,Boot ROMS are automatically loaded using ioctl lines. You can also have ROMS loaded via the F in the OSD, or via an MRA.
// ARM -> FPGA download
output reg ioctl_download = 0, // signal indicating an active download
output reg [15:0] ioctl_index, // menu index used to upload the file
output reg ioctl_wr,
output reg [26:0] ioctl_addr, // in WIDE mode address will be incremented by 2
output reg [DW:0] ioctl_dout,
output reg ioctl_upload = 0, // signal indicating an active upload
input ioctl_upload_req,
input [DW:0] ioctl_din,
output reg ioctl_rd,
output reg [31:0] ioctl_file_ext,
input ioctl_wait,Note: boot.rom is sent via ioctl_index == 0, boot1.rom is sent with [5:0] set to 0, and [15:6] set to 1. boot2.rom.. etc
// [15]: 0 - unset, 1 - set. [1:0]: 0 - none, 1 - 32MB, 2 - 64MB, 3 - 128MB
// [14]: debug mode: [8]: 1 - phase up, 0 - phase down. [7:0]: amount of shift.
output reg [15:0] sdram_sz,The RTC will pass the core the time from the HPS. If the HPS doesn't have the optional RTC board, it will pick up the time from an NTP server.
NOTE: the RTC just sends the time once at the beginning of the core start. After that, the core is responsible for incrementing the seconds, or incrementing the seconds and the other fields of the RTC structure.
in BCD:
// RTC MSM6242B layout
output reg [64:0] RTC,
// Seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00
output reg [32:0] TIMESTAMP, // UART flags
output reg [7:0] uart_mode,
output reg [31:0] uart_speed,The hps_io module has two ways of accessing the keyboard and mouse. It provides ps2 compatible signals which are useful for porting cores that are expecting a ps/2 keyboard. It also provides an easier to use more reliable interface.
To use the new interface, ps2_key[10] is toggled with each keypress. ps2_key[9] is whether the key is pressed or not. And the rest of the bits are pretty standard ps2 bits with bit 8 being the extended bit.
The HPS will use numlock and scrl_lock to indicate the mouse/joystick1/2 emulation. If the core wants to set any of these three of these LEDs it needs to set the bit in ps2_kbd_led_use - to enable it, and then in ps2_kb_led_status to turn the LED on/off. The LEDs are in the order:
assign ps2_kbd_led_status = {scrl_lock,num_lock,caps_lock};this control is quite slow, so the core shouldn't use it unless it's pseudo-static indication.
// ps2 keyboard emulation
output ps2_kbd_clk_out,
output ps2_kbd_data_out,
input ps2_kbd_clk_in,
input ps2_kbd_data_in,
input [2:0] ps2_kbd_led_status,
input [2:0] ps2_kbd_led_use,
output ps2_mouse_clk_out,
output ps2_mouse_data_out,
input ps2_mouse_clk_in,
input ps2_mouse_data_in,
// ps2 alternative interface.
// [8] - extended, [9] - pressed, [10] - toggles with every press/release
output reg [10:0] ps2_key = 0,
// [24] - toggles with every event
output reg [24:0] ps2_mouse = 0,
output reg [15:0] ps2_mouse_ext = 0, // 15:8 - reserved(additional buttons), 7:0 - wheel movements inout [21:0] gamma_bus,This should be used sparingly. It is for the exceptional case where a CD is needed as in the TurboGrafx16. It requires code on the HPS in the MiSTer binary.
// for core-specific extensions
inout [35:0] EXT_BUSVideo Freak is used to crop and scale the image.
Video Freak will take in the original VGA_DE_IN and output a new VGA_DE and VIDEO_ARX/VIDEO_ARY using the cropping parameters.
module video_freak
(
input CLK_VIDEO,
input CE_PIXEL,
input VGA_VS,
input [11:0] HDMI_WIDTH,
input [11:0] HDMI_HEIGHT,
output VGA_DE,
output reg [12:0] VIDEO_ARX,
output reg [12:0] VIDEO_ARY,
input VGA_DE_IN,
input [11:0] ARX,
input [11:0] ARY,
input [11:0] CROP_SIZE,
input [4:0] CROP_OFF, // -16...+15
input [2:0] SCALE //0 - normal, 1 - V-integer, 2 - HV-Integer-, 3 - HV-Integer+, 4 - HV-Integer
);Video Mixer is used as a helper to provide a lot of the nice videos that the MiSTer framework supplies. This includes scandoubling, gamma, hq2x scaling, and freezing.
The module has a few parameters that are used to set it up.
module video_mixer
#(
parameter LINE_LENGTH = 768,
parameter HALF_DEPTH = 0,
parameter GAMMA = 0
)
(
input CLK_VIDEO, // should be multiple by (ce_pix*4)
output reg CE_PIXEL, // output pixel clock enable
input ce_pix, // input pixel clock or clock_enable
input scandoubler,
input hq2x, // high quality 2x scaling
inout [21:0] gamma_bus,
// color
input [DWIDTH:0] R,
input [DWIDTH:0] G,
input [DWIDTH:0] B,
// Positive pulses.
input HSync,
input VSync,
input HBlank,
input VBlank,
// Freeze engine
// HDMI: displays last frame
// VGA: black screen with HSync and VSync
input HDMI_FREEZE,
output freeze_sync,
// video output signals
output reg [7:0] VGA_R,
output reg [7:0] VGA_G,
output reg [7:0] VGA_B,
output reg VGA_VS,
output reg VGA_HS,
output reg VGA_DE
);Arcade video is used mostly in arcade cores. It has some useful helpers to optionaly turn on scandoubler (based on the ini settings), deals with rotation on HDMI, and can optionally handle GAMMA, and different color widths.
The module has a few parameters that are used to set it up.
DW - width of pixels. most arcades don't use a full 24 bits
GAMMA - allow gamma controls
The clk_video needs to be 4x the ce_pix and above 40MHZ.
input clk_video,
input ce_pix,The FX parameter uses the output of status[5:3] in this example of a config string: "O35,Scandoubler Fx,None,HQ2x,CRT 25%,CRT 50%,CRT 75%;",
Optionally, we add the screen_rotate and pass in whether the game needs to rotate ccw or cw.
Screen rotate uses DDRAM for the framebuffer for rotation. If your core needs DDRAM for something else, see MCR3 for an example that uses DDRAM for an audio file and for the screen_rotate. Use this ddram: ddram instead of screen_rotate.
screen_rotate screen_rotate ( .*, .rotate_ccw(ccw) );
module arcade_video #(parameter WIDTH=320, DW=8, GAMMA=1)
(
input clk_video,
input ce_pix,
input[DW-1:0] RGB_in,
input HBlank,
input VBlank,
input HSync,
input VSync,
output CLK_VIDEO,
output CE_PIXEL,
output [7:0] VGA_R,
output [7:0] VGA_G,
output [7:0] VGA_B,
output VGA_HS,
output VGA_VS,
output VGA_DE,
output [1:0] VGA_SL,
input [2:0] fx,
input forced_scandoubler,
inout [21:0] gamma_bus
);
The ARM core on the DE-10 Nano is an ARM Cortex-A9 dual core You can grab a cross compiler for compiling ARM binaries on a 64bit intel based desktop system - eg OSX, Linux, or Windows (in the Linux subsystem)
wget -c https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu-a/10.2-2020.11/binrel/gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
Unpack somewhere useful, eg /opt
tar xf gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
and add to your path
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf/bin
optionally set CC
export CC='/opt/gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf/bin/arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-gcc'
then follow up with the usual make..
Docker has a arm7 cross compiler which is easy to install on Mac or Linux (assuming you have docker installed already!)
docker run --rm dockcross/linux-armv7 > /usr/local/sbin/dockcross-linux-armv7
chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/dockcross-linux-armv7
You can then cross-compile with
/usr/local/sbin/dockcross-linux-armv7 make ./MakeFile
or (to compile a fictitious hello.c -> hello.arm)
/usr/local/sbin/dockcross-linux-armv7 bash -c '$CC hello.c -o hello.arm'
After installing msys, download the current 10.2 binary release from the ARM site e.g.
gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-mingw-w64-i686-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
From this location:
https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/gnu-a/downloads
Note: the 10.3 version has isssues; please do not use that version.
Place the tar.xz file into your /opt/ folder under msys (e.g. C:\msys64\opt\); to decompress it, do the following from within MSYS:
cd /opt
unxz *.xz
tar xvf gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-mingw-w64-i686-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar
Then, you will probably want to rename the "gcc-arm-10.2-2020.11-mingw-w64-i686-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf" folder to something shorter, like "arm".
Then when running MSYS set your PATH variable to point to it:
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/<folder name from above>/bin
Another, more complicated option for big projects targeting for ARM
There are few reasons why you would want to modify, build, and install the u-boot boot loader used by MiSTer. It is assumed anyone undertaking this is aware of the risks and prepared to deal with them.
Disclaimer: Although unlikely, misconfiguring the boot loader could lead to hardware damage.
Realistically, in the worst case, you will have to use a computer to reinstall the original u-boot image on the appropriate partition of your SD card.
Why would you want to build a custom u-boot? The most common scenario is that there is some hardware peripheral or feature of the Altera Cyclone V SoC FPGA that you seek to enable, possibly for experimentation or adding a custom hardware capability to your MiSTer. In short, the ''why'' is left to the reader, and the ''how'' is addressed below.
Building a working u-boot image seems to requires an ARM cross-compilation toolchain with GCC version 4 or 5 (earlier may work but was not tested). Warning: In my experience, using a later version of GCC produces a u-boot image that is unable to reboot without a power cycle.
Set up a cross-compilation environment as documented in the instructions for Compiling the Linux Kernel for MiSTer, but do not download or install the ARM toolchain.
I suggest downloading and installing the Linaro 5.5-2017.10 toolchain, as it is the latest version that I found works properly. The current stock u-boot image distributed with MiSTer was compiled with GCC 4.8, so Linaro 4.9-2017.01 is another reasonable choice and still available for download as a binary at the time of this writing.
wget -c https://releases.linaro.org/components/toolchain/binaries/5.5-2017.10/arm-linux-gnueabihf/gcc-linaro-5.5.0-2017.10-x86_64_arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xzContinue with the steps for installing the toolchain detailed in Compiling the Linux Kernel for MiSTer, substituting "5.5-2017.10" for the Linaro version.
The u-boot source is available in the https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/u-boot_MiSTer repository (--depth=1 clones only the recent version, slimming down the download; omit this if you would like the full commit history):
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/u-boot_MiSTerCompile the source:
cd u-boot_MiSTer
make MiSTer_defconfig
make -j6Copy the u-boot image over to your MiSTer device. Note that the file must be copied to linux/uboot.img on your SD card. I suggest making a backup copy of the original linux/uboot.img. For example, if you are using scp:
scp root@[IP address of your MiSTer]:/media/fat/linux/uboot.img uboot.img.orig
scp u-boot-with-spl.sfp root@[IP address of your MiSTer]:/media/fat/linux/uboot.imgInstall the u-boot image on the appropriate partition of your SD card:
ssh root@[IP address of your MiSTer]
cd /media/fat/linux
./updatebootPower cycle your MiSTer (as opposed to a warm reboot).
The DE10-nano has a DDR memory shared between the linux system and the FPGA fabric. The DDR is connected to the FPGA through an Avalon interface.
In simple terms, the Avalon interface will set a busy signal if it cannot respond to a read or write request. The request must be kept high until busy goes down.
On a read, a dout_ready signal indicates that the data is valid. Note that for the write command, the write signal must be set high for each valid data that the FPGA sets forward. This is different from the read signal, which is only set at the beginning of the transaction. An additional read signal while the current read burst is not finished will be interpreted as an additional request and will mess things up very quickly.
If you indicate a burst, you should only use straight powers of 2 and must keep count of where you are in the burst so you take down the write signal at the end of the burst. Failing to clear the write signal will either set the DDR controller in a state waiting for that extra write pulse (if you clear it too soon) or will start a whole new burst (if you clear it too late). In both cases, the DDR controller and your FPGA logic will be out of sync.
The DDR address is only checked at the beginning of each burst. You do not need to update it during the burst. Indeed, updating it may break something.
The DDR interface sports an 8-byte data bus (64 bits). The recommended way to write the address bus is thus addr[31:3] in order to signify that the lower bits [2:0] come from the byte enable mask be.
As the DDR memory is shared, writing to some regions will crash the linux subsystem. Setting the 4 top address bits to 4'd3 is recommended.
While testing a new DDR interface, it is likely that the Avalon DDR controller gets stuck for the reasons above. Thus, during development, it will often be necessary to power cycle the MiSTer to reset the controller.
The DDR is typically used in these scenarios
no_rotate, rotate_ccw and flip signals similar to the following examples from the Joust2 core --> 1 - 2 - 3 - 4In order to facilitate the dynamic saving and loading of savestates, MiSTer defines a special API specifically for fast restore and resume. Enabling the savestate functionality on your core reserves a developer-specified section of DDR3 memory, which is used for fast savestate reads/writes. It does NOT provide any functionality for the actual saving/loading of all registers and memories in your project.
NOTE: MiSTer is currently limited in the firmware to precisely four savestate slots. You cannot add more slots using this API.
As specified in the Core Configuration String, a core name definition can be followed by SS{base addr}:{savestate size}, which declares the core as using savestates. In practice, it would look something like this: MyCore;SS3E000000:1000;. This declares the savestates will begin at 0x3E00_0000, and each one will be allocated 0x1000 bytes. Note that the actual size on disk for the savestate does not have to match this allocated size; it just must be less than or equal to it. You probably want to choose this value to be a nice power of two, so that savestate slots 1-3 start at nice addresses.
NOTE: Most of the DDR controllers in various MiSTer projects hardcode the addresses to be in the 0x3000_0000 range, to give ample room to the MiSTer framework and CPU.
The first 64 bit word of each savestate block (so 0x0, 0x1000, 0x2000, etc. from our example) contains two 32 bit values. The lowest 32 bits ([31:0]) act as a change detector. The higher 32 bits ([63:32]) store the size of the savestate.
The change detector notifies the MiSTer firmware that a savestate has been updated, and thus must be saved to disk. Saves are performed rather quickly after the write occurs, and do not require opening of the OSD, as block device saves do. While this value is persisted to disk as a part of the savestate writing process, it is not read again, and will be reset to 0xFFFF_FFFF on restarting the core or loading a new ROM.
The savestate size word defines the number of 32 bit words that should be read for the savestate, not including the initial 64 bit control word. For example, to fetch 64 bytes, you would want to set this value to 64 / 4 = 16. This value can vary between each of the 4 savestate slots if you so desire, as it is independant per slot.
On core launch, slots that are occupied will have the size word set, in addition to actually representing the current file contents. Empty slots will be initialized to 0.
After the initial 64 bits of control data, the remaining address space up until the savestate size defined in CONF_STR is available to use as you will. You can read and write to this entire space as you'd like, and data will be persisted only on a change to the first word, according to the configured control size. This space is only initialized when there is a savestate file in that slot, and otherwise will contain random data. Remember that only the data denoted by the savestate size word will be persisted.
The file persisted to disk will be of size savestate size control value + 2 in 32 bit words, that is, the size of the actual savestate contents, and an extra 64 bits for the control data at the start of the block.
Written by agg23
Many old computers have analog parts, for example audio boards that have partly analog synthesis and old desktop computers with tape input.
Until MiSTer Discrete is more mature, there is no convenient way to directly simulate electronic circuits in real time on the MiSTer. So to implement these type of circuits in fpga, you will have to come up with some kind of simulation of the behavior of the electronic circuits.
The Arcade-Battlezone core is an example of a core with analog sound synthesis.
This is now the preferred way of implementing analog simulations.
The MiSTer Discrete project is a standardized collection of subcircuits that can we wired together to create an in-core analog circuit simulation.
It follows a discipline described in the project readme. The methodology is similar to the one described below, but the modules are smaller subcircuits that are compatible with other modules from the MiSTer Discrete family of analog modeling chips. By wiring them together you can create full simulated analog circuits.
Identify the digital and analog parts of the schematic.
One thing to keep in mind is that the digital parts run at the system clock speed, or sometimes a separate clock source that is closer to the audible frequency spectrum, in Arcade Battlezone there is a 12khz input to a digital noise circuit, of which the output goes into and analog integrator circuit. This creates an axplosion sound. The implementation of this sound is listed at "inverting amplifier" below.
The analog parts will be outputting at audio sample rate, i.e. 48khz
Implement all the digital parts, common digital components in sound systems are:
Identify analog circuits with isolated behavior, i.e. 1 input, 1 output. These can be individually implemented and tested.
Identify common, easily recognisable and implementable parts, such as:
This can be implemented using an iir low pass filter, you can find the parameters using this spreadsheet
Some implementations of iir filters:
A simpler type:
inverting amplifiers
This is essentially a sign inversion of the sample, followed by a (fixed sign) multiplication.
non inverting amplifiers
This is just a (fixed sign) multiplication of the sample
differential amplifiers
inverting integrators
or
This is essentially a sign inversion of the sample, followed by a multiplication, with the result being stored in a reg.
The multiplication is run repeatedly, each audio clock cycle, Resulting in a "release/decay" type amplifier envelope.
An example of an implementation of this can be found here
other common opamp circuits
An additive mixer just adds up/averages two signals. If the resistance is higher for one signal than the other, this will result in a volume difference between them.
All the parts that are going to need more attention, make note of what these parts are an try to guess what they are for. Differentiators and integrators combined with 555 timers and noise inputs can be tricky.
